Who is Charlotte Black?
by WeasleyBlack
Summary: R/R. Harry receives a letter from a "Charlie Black." Who is this man? Or is it a woman? Why is Ron an important aspect in her life? The answers will be found not in books, but on a floating island hovering over Egypt. Ron/OC, Draco/Hermione, Harry/Luna
1. Papa!

The Wizarding World has been at peace for three straight years. The world was at peace, and so was Harry Potter. The hero was at rest, and taking care of three year old Teddy Lupin. He was turning 20 in a week, and instead of partying, this young man was putting his godson to sleep.

"But papa! I want more stories!" Teddy cried.

"Now Teddy, you don't want me to tell you ALL the stories in one night do you? There won't be any left!" Harry exclaimed back, giving him a gentle wink.

"Tomorrow?" He asked, with much hope.

"Yes. Now close your eyes."

Harry tucked Teddy in bed, smiling down at him. Teddy's innocent happy smile warmed and saddened Harry at the same time. He loved his godson. He was Harry's son. Sometimes Harry pictured the future. Teddy would grow up like Harry, without his blood parents. But, he would grow up loved by all.

Teddy was fighting a battle. The battle to stay awake. His eyes drifted, and shot open, then drifted again. Harry watched in amusement. Once his eyes were fully shut, and tiny snores escaped from the tiny body, Harry got up. He felt older than he really was. His body was sore from playing all day, but he did it happily. He quietly got up, and left the bedroom, closing the door half way. He turned off the light, and walked down the hall to the stairs.

Ted and Andromeda offered to take Teddy in on multiple occasions, thinking a baby would be too much for him to handle after the last battle, but Harry graciously refused every time. Harry needed a life of meaning. Look at the life he's had up until now. He wanted a life with meaning, and a family. Teddy wasn't blood related, but he was surely family.

Harry walked down the carpeted stairs, very tiredly. He walked to the kitchen, and the sudden cold feeling on his feet from the tiles sent a shiver up his spine. He opened the refrigerator and took one of Teddy's popsicles, then walked to his pull out couch in the living room. Yes, the rich Harry Potter slept on a pull out couch - but by choice. He spends his money when he needs it, and nothing more.

"Papa?" A sad sounding toddler called.

"What is it Teddy?"

"I want one too!" He said, much more awake.

Harry got up, and gave Teddy's head a pat. He picked him up, and put him on his shoulders.

"You have to get it yourself son!" Harry chuckled. Teddy grabbed the wild hairs on Harry's head gently, and Harry acted as a puppet. Teddy howling with pleasure. He walked safetly, but most entertainingly, towards the fridge. He crouched down until Teddy could reach the handle, and tried pulling it open. He was still too young to open it himself, so Harry sneakishly helped.

"Butterbeer or pumpkin juice flavor?" Harry asked.

"Ummmm..fudge flies!" He said excitedly. Harry let Teddy grab his choice, then closed the freezer door. He walked like a goof all the way to the pull out couch.

Together the two boys ate their night time treats under the warm blankets.

Harry was restless. He drifted in and out of sleep, but hadn't had a full nights sleep in a long time. He dearly wished he could sleep a full night, and maybe a little more. It was 4:00AM and there he lay, with his toddler next to him snoring. Sometimes he lay there thinking about his parents, sometimes he lay there thinking about his lost friends and family. A lot of the time he thought of the Weasley's, particularily Ginny Weasley.

So much had happened the year of the last battle, and when it was over, it wasn't really over. He was fighting demons. The loss of all those lives was a burden on Harry's shoulders. Sometimes the weight was so heavy, he felt magnetized to the earth. He couldn't handle a baby, a girlfriend, and his past all at once.

Harry wanted nothing more than to raise his godson. Ginny didn't understand what he was going through, and it drove Harry to the point ending it with her was the best solution for everybody. He missed her.

His thoughts were interrupted, by a tapping on the window in the kitchen. He got up slowly to avoid waking Teddy, and carried himself towards the window. The sun was rising, and the sky was a dark pink and orange.

He opened the window, and there was a small brown owl, holding a fancy letter. Harry took the letter, and gave the owl a treat, and the owl flew off gracefully.

Hmm. Harry thought. Who could this be from?

The letter was marked, "Potter." He opened it neatly and tossed the envelope aside.

"Harry,

My name is Charlie Black. Yes, Black. It's time I meet the famous Harry Potter. Now that the dark times are over, I feel it's time to find my family. I know we're not related by blood, but it's to my understanding you were close to my father before he died years ago.

I'll be at the Three Broomsticks at midnight. I'll be at the bar.

-C


	2. Meeting Charlie Black

The pub was full of old drunken men, and trashy women with rotten teeth. Harry sat alone at the bar to avoid being seen. It's only been three years since he defeated Tom Riddle in battle. He didn't want drunk elderly people hanging off of him, having drunken conversations with him. Tonight he was on a mission, and that was to meet Charlie Black, and find out what he wants.

He got a butterbeer and sat in anticipation for ten minutes. It was 12:01, and the wait began. His wildy messy hair and stubbly face didn't make him look presentable, but he didn't want to get all cleaned up for what might turn out to be an ugly fight.

Double Trouble, a song sang by the Hogwarts Choir in his third year was playing on the radio. "_Double, double, toil and trouble. Fire burn and cauldron bubble. Double, double, toil and trouble. Something wicked this way comes_."

Something wicked. Was he something wicked?

Harry kept thinking about Teddy. Hermione and Ronald were babysitting him at the Burrow for the night. Molly had a big lunch party planned for Harry's twentieth birthday. Teddy was spending the night there, and it was his first time without Harry. It was Harry's first night without Teddy.

He really didn't like to be parted from him, even for an hour. It's nice to have naps and breaks, but at least they're still in the same building. He was wondering if he was giving his best friends a hard time. He wondered if he's completely happy with them. He didn't know which he prefered, to be honest.

The door opened, and Harry's eyes darted to it. But it wasn't Charlie Black. It was a beautiful girl in fact. Long black hair that seemed to go down to her belly button, and her skin was very pale. She was decently short, and her lips were apple red. She was wearing jean shorts, and Harry could see a big tattoo on her thigh.

A man followed behind her, he was tall, with dark brown hair, wearing a leather jacket. His face wore a serious expression.

That must be him.

They both sat down at the bar, very quiet. It was Harry, an open space, the man, then the woman. As soon as their bottoms hit the seats, Harry turned to the man, "Mr. Black?"

"Not quiet." The man replied.

"Harry Potter?" The beautiful girl asked, getting up and sitting in the seat next to him, "I'm Charlotte Black."

"Shot of firewhiskey please." Harry requested from Madam Rosmerta.

Harry blankly stared at the girl that sat before him. His thoughts were mush, he didn't know how to react. He just sat there swimming in his thoughts.

"I'm not here to ruin your life. I'm here to know about my father, and maybe find a friend." She spoke, sounding upset at Harry's reaction.

He didn't reply right away. He took a few breaths then took a sip of his butterbeer. Harry turned to her, and asked her who her father was. This is something he needed to know, before this continued.

"Well, it's to my understand you were his Godson." She said.

Sirius? Sirius Black didn't have a daughter! He would have told me. Wouldn't he have? ... Would he have?

"Yes, Sirius Black is my father. But before you throw a hissy fit, he didn't know about me. I know you were close, you would have known, and if he's the good man Albus told me he was, he would have taken me in."

"Dumbledore told you about him?" Harry asked.

"When Sirius died, my mother read about it, and was curious if any of the newspaper stories were true. She wrote to Albus, before she died of a wizarding disease, and he wrote to me. We grew close in letters before he died." Charlotte said quietly.

"Let's just go." The man beside her said.

"No, don't. I'm sorry. I'm just thinking. I'm Harry, and it's nice to meet both of you. I'm glad you've contacted me. You have something about you, that reminds me of him. You're eyes; they're light brown. They look like his. I hope you'll be apart of my life somehow. He was only a big part of my life for about 2 years. When he died.." He stopped.

"Thank you Harry. I can see this was a good decision. This is Stefan, my boyfriend. It's late, we should call it a night, we have to find somewhere to sleep. Can we contact you by mail tomorrow?" Charlotte asked. "We can talk more then."

"My son is out for the night. I can sleep in his bedroom, if you'd like to spend the night on my pull out couch. It's not much, but it's better than an Inn." Harry suggested.

Charlotte turned to Stefan, and they talked quietly to each other. Harry felt relieved. He could tell already they would become close fast.

"Stefan is going to go back home without me. Is it already if I stay at your house?" Charlotte asked.

Harry nodded, and finished his butterbeer.

Charlotte got up from her seat, and closed her robes, so her body wasn't revealed. It was late, and she had a brain. Stefan got up as well, and he walked towards the door, with her trailing behind him. They left the pub, and Harry could see them saying goodbye from the window. They were so serious. So in love. Harry thought of Ginny.

They kissed passionately, and he apparated. Harry got up and left money on the counter, then exited the pub himself.

"So, shall we?" He said, holding out his arm.

* * *

Harry and Charlotte cracked into his apartment. It was clean, like it usually was. Charlotte walked around willingly, checking the place out. She saw pictures of witches and wizards of all kinds, taking up one whole wall. They were of all his loved ones that were lost over his years, and loved ones that still remained in his life.

"Who's this girl?" She pointed at Ginny.

"Funny you point her out. She's my ex girlfriend. Thought I was going to marry her. She's my best friends little sister."

Charlotte frowned. "You know, if you still loved her, you still could marry her."

Harry chuckled darkly. "Yeah, but I won't marry her. I ended it with her too many times. She could be right for me, and probably is, but what is right anymore anyway? I want to raise my godson alone, and start my life over fresh. She didn't understand, and didn't want to wait. We're starting to become friends again though."

"And who's this pretty girl?" She asked curiously.

"Well, might as well give you the family tree now then." Harry made a move with his wand, and the couch neatly moved over to the wall, and they sat down.

"That girl is Hermione Granger, my best friend. She's been my best friend since first year at Hogwarts. That's her boyfriend, Ronald Weasley, my best friend since that same time. We've been a trio since day one, but they grew feelings for each other. Complete opposites." Harry laughed.

"Hmm, he's beautiful." She said, staring at Ron's photo.

Harry kept going. "That's Fred and George. Fred died in battle. They were twins. Don't talk about anything like it in front of George. It's as if he lost his soul. That's Arthur and Molly Weasley. They basically raised me. That's Bill and Fleur, they're married, and expecting. She's ready to go at any day I think. That's Charlie, and Percy. He's a boy, unlike you, haha." Harry joked. "I thought you might be a man that was looking for a match!"

Charlotte smiled. And kept looking. Harry told her about the whole family, and his childhood friends. He told her all about Luna, Nevielle, Draco, even the Dursleys. They stayed up talking until 6 in the morning.

"Charlotte, tomorrow is my birthday party at the Burrow. It's a lunch time thing. I need sleep, and so do you, because I'm inviting you. It's my birthday after all, and you should meet everyone. I want you in my life, you're my new baby sister. I want you to meet my Teddy." Harry grinned.

He moved the couch back, and made her bed magically. He said goodnight, and left her to her thoughts.

"Turn the light off with your wand whenever you're ready to sleep, night."

"Can you turn it off now?" She smiled tiredly. "See you at noon."

Harry headed to Teddy's room. When he opened the door, his heart sank. Teddy wasn't there, and he missed him. He was so distracted by Charlotte, but now his mind is all on him.

_You'll see him in a few hours. Get some rest._


	3. Birthday Gathering Part 1

Harry stretched, yawned, and scratched his scruffy face. He thought he ought to shave but it was his twentieth birthday and he was lazy.

_Besides, I look older, handsome, and maybe Ginny will like it. _He thought to himself.

He trimmed his scruff, but left it there. He cleaned up, had a long shower, and wrapped his lower half in a towel. When he opened the door, the cold air immediately gave him goosebumps. The steam from the bathroom showered out the door, and evaporated. He shook out his wet hair, and walked towards the living to awake his guest.

Charlotte was still sleeping. It was 11AM, and they had 5 hours of sleep. When he walked into the living room, he saw Charlotte's naked backside. It was only shocking, because of all the scars, and the big owl tattoo that stretched across her shoulder blades. She was very skinny, and he could see a slight outline of her spine bone.

The only thing that ran through his mind, even with her nudity was; What happened to her?

After getting ready, Harry wrote a note, and left it beside Charlotte's pillow.

"_Charlotte,_

_I'm going to pick up Teddy from the Burrow. Molly sent me a letter, he's acting up, and wants me._

_I'll make lunch when we get back._

_-Harry_"

* * *

Harry put the ancient key into the keyhole, and gave it a turn. No one would "alohamora" into his apartment, and that's the way he liked it. He opened the door, with Teddy at his side, holding his hand. When Harry opened the door, Teddy let go, and ran in.

Harry was afraid Charlotte was still sleeping, but when he turned around the corner, she was sitting at the table with a cup of tea, and three plates of food in front of her. Harry smiled, but he felt guilty.

The house smelt of grilled cheese and freshly made coffee. Coincidentally grilled cheese was Teddy's favorite.

"Hey Teddy," Harry crouched down to his level, "This is Charlotte, Uncle Sirius's daughter."

Charlotte looked stunned. Teddy never met Sirius!

"The Uncle with wings in the sky?" The tiny little boy asked, bright eyed. Charlotte smiled deeply. She had guessed Harry was starting to explain death to Teddy. He was getting to the age where he was asking questions and a lot of people had died.

"That's the one! She's going to be hanging out with us from now on, won't that be fun?" Harry asked with a big loving smile.

Teddy waited a second to answer. He looked at Charlotte, then at the grilled cheese, and grabbed a slice and bit into it. His face lit up in approval and he hugged Charlotte's legs. "Is yummy Chari!"

"Harry.." Charlotte started, looking concerned, "Did you dye Teddy's hair blue when I wasn't looking?"

Harry looked alarmed, and Teddy grabbed his hair immediately. Harry remembered Tonks was metamorphic , and Teddy must have inherited that from her.

"Teddy! Your hair is blue!" Harry hollered, playing around with Teddy.

"PAPA! I need a bath!" Teddy cried, still grasping his hair between his fingers.

Harry grabbed Teddy, and jokingly ran to the bathroom, and let Teddy look at himself in the mirror. Charlotte followed behind, and stood in the doorway watching the two boys. Teddy stared at himself in horror at first, but then he started giggling and his hair turned purple. That made him howl in amusement and he clapped his hands.

"Papa! Magic!"

"Yeah, Teddy, magic."

* * *

"Are you sure about this, Harry? The closer we get, the more nervous I feel!" Charlotte said.

"I'm not sure. But, you already promised Teddy. Right little man?"

Teddy turned around in Harry's arms, facing Charlotte, and threw his fist into the air, screaming "Yeah! You promised Chari!"

She was defeated.

"As long as you remember everything I told you, you're golden!"

"Harry you told me a LOT of information!" She cried.

They kept walking through the tall grass, minutes away from the Burrow. The sun was at it's highest, for it was just after 12. There wasn't a cloud in the sky and the air was perfect. Hot, but with a nice breeze.

Being closer and closer to their destination made Charlotte's butterflies grow stronger. Her stomach was in a knot. Getting the courage to write Harry took months. And the day after meeting him, she's meeting everyone else at once.

Her nerves were eased when she could hear the loud barks of laughter, and the warm voices emerging from the cute little house. When they were only feet away from the door, it swung open and Molly Weasley walked through with a bag of garbage floating in front of her, that continued to the end of the walkway on it's own. When she noticed Harry and Teddy; she smiled the biggest smile a woman could bare, and embraced him with a hug.

"Teddy, your hair is blue!" Molly said really loudly.

"Nana, it's magic!"

When the hug was over, she moved Harry aside, looking at the dark haired girl behind him.

"Molly, this is Charlotte Black. Charlie, this is Mrs. Weasley. My second mother." Harry introduced them, ready to laugh.

Molly laughed a golly laugh, and hugged her as nice as she hugged Harry. It made Charlotte feel odd, but that feeling only lasted a second or two. The woman made all her worries disappear.

"Now Molly, you know how wound up the boys are of this mysterious Black attending my birthday party, with their crazy assumptions. Let's keep the laugh going!" Harry chuckled.

"What assumptions, Harry?" Charlotte asked.

"Oh, um.."

"Harry Potter! You haven't told her everyone thinks she's a boy? Heavens me. Dear, Harry led the boys to believe you were a male Black family member, like he thought himself, to get a laugh out of everyone. You see, they expect you to want to battle them. They've been itching for a good adventure lately."

Charlotte gave Harry an appalled look, which followed with her rolling her eyes then smiling.

Molly entered the doorway, with her face a little red from the sun, and she walked in stiffly. Everyone hushed up in curiousity. George, Bill, and Ron sat in anticipation.

"So? Where is this chump?" Ron asked, with his wand at the ready.

"Oh Ron, grow up he's probably a nice boy! Maybe cute too, eh Hermione?" Ginny teased.

Hermione looked up at Ron, who's ears went red immediately.

Harry walked through the doorway, with Teddy in his arms. Teddy was so excited when he saw Fleur, and got free of his arms and ran to her.

"Fur! Fur! Where's the baby!"

Fleur pointed to her belly, and gave it a rub. "Iz in zer!"

Teddy copied her, and rubbed her belly too. He was so fascinated with her huge beach ball stomach.

The room was full of tension. Teddy was the happiest person in the room, besides Molly and Harry of course. All you could hear was Teddy cooeing to Fleur's stomach.

Harry called out, "Charlie?"

Charlotte slowly turned into the doorway, slighting blushing.

"Hi, I'm Charlotte."

The room remained silent for three seconds. Jaws were dropped. Hermione looked at Ron, who was blushing as well, looking at the girl in the doorway. Hermione was instantly jealous and wanted to mark her territory.

Fleur started to laugh quietly, holding back. She turned to her husband, and couldn't hold it any longer. Molly and Fleur burst out laughing. Ginny and Hermione giggled, but didn't join in on the extreme howls coming from everyone else.

Bill and Arthur got up from the table. Bill feeling ashamed, Arthur thrilled. He reached out, and shook her hand, and Bill did the same, apologizing for the family's stupid assumptions, and then hit Harry in the arm.

* * *

"Hermione, relax. Sure, she's attractive, but you've already won Ron over. Don't jump to conclusions! Besides, she's staying at HARRY's apartment, with Teddy. What a cute little family.." Ginny said to Hermione.

The two girls were in the backyard under the biggest tree, in view of everyone on the back porch. They wanted to make sure they weren't over heard.

"Gin, let's get real. You saw his face when she walked in. YOU have nothing to worry about! Harry still loves you. You know he does."

Ginny just looked down at her feet in the grass. She knew Harry still loved her. She still loved Harry. She would always love Harry. But love wasn't enough, and they were young. She had her mind set on her future for now, just like Harry was. And when they were mature enough, she would ask him on a date. She thought about it in her head every night before bed.

The two girls sat together, staring at what was going on. Everyone was happy, and laughing. Charlotte had Teddy on her lap, and Fleur was beside her. Teddy was pointing at Fleur's stomach, and laughing to Charlotte, talking about how he's going to be best friends with the baby when she arrives.

Harry and Ron were sitting together, talking more quietly to each other. George, Bill and Arthur were talking loudly, whaling their arms along to with their words, discussing work.

"Maybe we can find something out about her that will help us get rid of her." Hermione was deep in thought.

"Hermione! That's horrible coming from you. You two might even end up being best friends for all you know! Maybe she has a boyfriend." She said, rather hopeful.

*CRACK*

Luna Lovegood had apparated right beside the two girls.

"Afternoon ladies! Fancying the sun are we? Who's that dark haired girl over there?" Luna greeted, then asked.

"Hi Luna!" Hermione cheered. "That's Charlotte. Turns out Charlie Black, is a girl and that's her nickname. Pretty little thing isn't she." She finished, gloomily.

Luna frowned at the negativity. The moment she saw the girl with the very long black hair, that looked to be quiet different from the rest, she wanted to be her friend. Charlotte reminded Luna of herself. Stuck out from the crowd, and was corky.

Luna skipped up to Harry, and said 'Happy birthday' and gave him a hug. Harry felt her hot skin against his, and got goosebumps. Luna noticed as she pulled away, looking at him directly.

"Hey Ron! How was your summer?" She asked.

"Boring until today." He said, looking at Charlotte for a moment.

Charlotte got up, and held Teddy in her arms. She noticed Luna standing there, looking at her.

"Why Teddy, your hair has turned color!" Luna smiled, then turned to Charlotte. "Hello, I'm Luna Lovegood."

"Charlotte." She nodded and smiled sweetly, with her apple red lips. Charlotte sneakishly walked over for two reasons. She was curious who the pretty blonde girl was, and she wanted an excuse to be next to Ronald.

Charlotte looked down at Harry, and then to Ron. She fixed her eyes on him, and blushed, and then looked at Luna.

Molly asked Harry and Ron's assistance in the kitchen. Teddy went with Harry, because he wanted a juice box. Apple juice.

Luna and Charlotte made eye contact. That alone felt genius to Charlotte. She felt a connection from her. Charlotte was never close with any girls, besides her mother. Luna started to run towards the long grass, and grabbed Charlotte's hand and pulled her with her. Hand in hand, they can laughing comfortably through the field beside the Burrow. Charlotte assumed Luna felt the connection as well.

Ron looked through the window, as it was happening, and smiled.

"Harry, do you think.." Ron started.

"Ron, if you're asking me about Charlie, I'm not after her. She's my new sister. But, she does currently have a boyfriend, like you have Hermione." Harry grinned. Ron nodded, and continued to look out the window until they were gone.

"It's funny how Luna showed up. Charlotte will fit in easier now. They're going to get along great. She's like a dark serious version of Luna." Harry said.

Charlotte and Luna stopped running, a bit out of breath. They continued to swing their arms, hand in hand. Charlotte felt like a young girl.

"Lou?" Charlotte called.

"Yes, Charlie? Ha, we both have male nicknames, fancy that!"

"We should be friends."

Luna squeezed Charlotte's hand in agreement, and they sat down in the tall grass. Charlotte sat behind Luna, and ran her fingers through her hair, then eventually braiding it.

"So, you're staying with Harry for a while?" Luna piped up.

"Yes, temporarily. He's already like my brother." Charlotte said simply. Then more seriously, "If you fancy Harry, you have nothing to worry about! I have my Stefan. Wait, do you?"

"Harry has always been a friend. I've always been fond of him. But seeing him with Teddy today, I don't know. Something just clicked. It was like a timer, and it went off and now my ears are ringing."

Charlotte got up and sat in front of Luna, with a big smile on her face. Luna looked down, and her fingers trailed Charlotte's thigh, looking at the tattoo that was there. It was an underwater themed piece, with mer-people and seaweed, with fish flowing through the water.

"Did that hurt?" Luna asked.

"Not really, only a little. But, now that we're confessing, I'm intrigued by the redheaded boy."


	4. Birthday Gathering Part 2

When the little hand on the clock met the number 4, the Burrow smelt delicious. The scent met every inch of the home, and satisfied everybody's nostrils. It made the Burrow extra warm, an calmed everyone's nerves - except for Ronald's, whose stomach was screaming with want and his mouth watering uncontrollably.

The Weasley's home was full of people by now. Everyone was there for Harry Potter's birthday celebration. The Weasley's (Molly, Arthur, Bill, Fleur, Percy, Penelope, Charlie, George, Ron, and Ginny), Charlotte, Hermione, Luna, Neville, Hannah, Dean, Seamus, and even Hagrid. The Burrow was bursting with the scent of a grand dinner, and was filled with loud happy voices. Arthur sat at the end of the table, with Harry to his left, and Molly to his right.

Harry beamed as he looked around at his family. Charlotte had Teddy on her lap, and he was blabbing on about his magical hair, and how excited he was for Victoire to arrive. She was ill for a couple of days, so Gabriella - Fleur's sister - took care of her insure Fleur didn't get sick. Being pregnant and overdue, and sick at the same time was not something she was up for.

He looked around, and stopped at each friend for a moment. Dean and Seamus were still the best of friends, and were also business partner's. They were working on opening a restaurant in Diagon Alley, and it was finally opening in a week. Neville and Hannah were newly engaged and their love was noticed by everyone. Hagrid and Madame Maxine's appearance caused Molly to magically make the ceiling taller. Madame Maxine's french proper style influenced Hagrid, Harry suspected, for he was dressed handsomely.

It was a scorching day that September afternoon, and everyone was in their best summer clothing. Luna was wearing a cute summer dress that caught everyone's attention, specifically Harry's. He always admired her quirky fashion sense. Charlotte was wearing her favorite short shorts, and floral tank top, with her long black hair up in a high pony tail.

Hermione was wearing a light pink dress that fluttered as she moved, and revealed her long slender legs. She looked exceptionally pretty that day, all for Ron. Hermione and Ron sat together next to Harry, holding hands. They were young and in love, and Harry was accepting of their relationship, even though he felt it ruined the trio they had built up over the years.

"So! Dean, Seamus. Your new restaurant opens this week, doesn't it? Care to get us reservations for the opening day?" Harry suggests with a grin. They agreed, thinking Harry Potter showing up for the opening day might give them a good start with their business.

"What's it called, again?" Hermione piped in.

"We haven't announced it yet, because we wanted to run it by Harry." Dean turned to Harry and looked him in the eyes. "Harry, we're not trying to feed off of your fame, and we don't want to cause you anything unpleasant but our restaurant is Hogwarts themed. It doesn't look like Hogwarts, but it has the same magical feeling inside, and we wanted to name it, "Empire of the Expelliarmus." Which would of course, be after you. You saved the magic, and we wanted to give back in a small way."

Harry was shocked, but felt warm. It would put him in the spotlight again temporarily, but the offer was too great to pass up. He didn't want to disappoint anyone, and actually liked the idea of a Hogwarts themed restaurant. Everyone's eyes were on Harry, wanting him to say yes. He nodded his head with a goofy grin, and everyone chattered away about the excitement.

*Crack*

Harry's grin remained, and he removed himself from his seat, and opened the door.

"Charlotte, I have a surprise for you." His grin relaxed into a smile, and revealed her gift. It was Stefan, and he was standing in the doorway with a big smile from ear to ear.

Charlotte handed Teddy carefully over to Molly, and then ran into Stefan's arms and squeezed. Hermione relaxed in her seat, happy to see Charlotte wasn't single, as well as Ginny. Luna smiled sweetly, and Ron had a red tint to his face.

Stefan kissed the top of her head, and she ran a stroke through his long wild curly hair. He went over to Harry and shook his hand, wishing him a Happy Birthday. Charlotte showed him to his empty seat next to her and before he sat down, he introduced himself to Molly and Arthur. They were thrilled to meet him, along with everyone else for different reasons. Charlotte was beaming with happiness now that Stefan was at her side.

Bill sat next to Stefan, and they hit it off shortly after his arrival, talking Quidditch. Fleur and Penelope were in deep conversation about her pregnancy. Penelope and Percy were newly pregnant, and naturally had tons of questions to ask Fleur, whom was ready to pop her second baby at any day.

Dinner was placed along the whole table, and was packed with delicious food. Everyone took their share of food, which seemed to be endless. The potatoes were creamy and buttery, and the gigantic chicken was crisp and moist. Ron's eyes were huge with hunger and dug in immediately. The vegetables were steamed and seasoned with Molly's special seasoning. The gravy and tolls were made from scratch and made everything taste better than it already did. The stuffing was fluffy and the dessert was every kind of pie imaginable, along with giggly jello.

Everyone's mouths were full of hot food, and soon everyone's stomachs were completely full.

Bill and Charlotte switched seats, so Bill and Stefan could talk Quidditch, and Charlotte and Fleur could talk as well. There was a Quidditch game in October, and Stefan invited Bill to join him. It was the Bulgarian National team, against the Gorodok Gargoyles. By the end of the conversation, Harry, Ron, Hermione, Charlotte, Stefan, Ginny, George, Luna, and of course little Teddy all planned to attend the match together.

Hagrid left the table, and returned shortly after with a big cake with 20 lit candles on top, and began to sing very loudly. Madame Maxine may have changed his style, but his voice and baking was the same as Harry had remembered when he was eleven. Everyone caught on to the birthday song, and by the end of it, the cake was in front of Harry. The room was dark, and the candles gave off a brilliant light. Everyone gathered around in front of Harry, laughing and clapping, waiting for him to blow out the candles.

Before he closed his eyes to wish, the last thing he saw was Luna's blue eyes glowing in the candle light and the euphoric feeling he got was unimaginable. He closed his eyes, but all he could think of was Luna, and blew out his candles.

As the candle lit blew out, the lights turned on and the laughter died down. Harry cut the pieces, and handed them out to everyone. As the cake was being given out, a little girls voice cried, "Cake!"

It was Victoire, and instantly Teddy grabbed his own cake and ran to her and Gabriella, and gave it to his little play mate. Teddy adored Victoire. She was the closest to his age, and he loved being older and being able to teach her things. He grabbed her hand and they walked over to the table, sharing his cake. Gabriella sat next to Fleur, kissing her on the cheek, and then joining the table for dessert.

While Charlotte, Gabriella and Fleur sat in conversation, Fleur stopped suddenly, grabbed the two girls, and waddles to the bathroom upstairs as fast as her body would let her.

"I zink I peed myself!" Fleur teared, embarrassed, lifting her dress up to sit on the toilet. "I can't go back down zere! Zere iz a trail of.." She paused. "I zink..I zink my water broke." She said, not knowing what to do.

She was over emotional, and started to cry in excitement. She held onto Charlotte's hand tightly, while she held her stomach. Gabriella ran downstairs to get Bill and let everyone else know the party would be cut short.

He apparated to the bathroom as soon as he saw Gabriella run down the stairs. He took Fleur's hand, and apparated the two of them to St. Mungo's. Dean and Seamus quickly said goodbye to Harry and told him they'd write to him about the opening day, and floo powdered out. Neville and Hannah flooed out as well, back to their cottage, and Hagrid and Maxine headed out as well. Everyone else apparated to St. Mungo's to await the new arrival.

Charlotte and Stefan were the last to leave. "Okay, breathe. Are you sure?" Stefan asked gently. Charlotte nodded, and held onto Stefan.

* * *

Teddy was jumping up and down in his seat next to harry, clapping his hands excitedly with Victoire. "Baby baby baby!"

"Yes, Teddy! Our new little friend is on her way!" Luna clapped her hands too.

The waiting room was filled with anxious witches and wizards. Most of them were redheaded, for the Weasley's took up a great space in the room. Teddy sat in the seat next to Luna, admiring her exotic accessories. Hermione and Ron sat together. Ron was so happy to have another neice, he was acting like a boy in a toy store. Hermione thought it was the sweetest thing.

Stefan came into the room, alone, and Harry got up and joined him at the door.

"Where's Charlotte?" Harry asked.

"She's in room #304, down the hall."

"_What?"_

"She's with her specialist. There's nothing to worry about right now. But there is something you should know, in case it happens when I'm not there." Stefan started. "But, we think the whole family should be aware. Keeping it a secret is pointless now."

Harry was puzzled. _The scars? Maybe this has something to do with the scars on her back. But what could it be?_

Harry got everyone's attention. Stefan took a deep, painful breath, and scratched his head, with a saddened expression. Hermione took Ron's hand, and gave it a squeeze. Harry picked Teddy up from beside Luna's lap, and stood there waiting for Stefan to begin.

"Alright, Charlotte's down the hall in room #304." Stefan began.

"Oh dear, is she hurt? That's intensive care!" Molly asked, in a very worried motherly tone.

"She's not hurt. She's with her specialist, Ms. Greene."

"You mean Dana Greene? That can't be possible. She only has a few patients here, she's one of the witches working on.." Arthur spoke.

Stefan cut in. "Charlotte _is_ one of her patients. Charlotte has a rare wizarding disease, that her mother had passed away from a couple of years ago. The disease is unknown, unnamed, and currently being investigated to this day. The disease causes her to not be able to use her magic. She is a very powerful witch, but a very weak person. She has _too much_ magic in her blood, that causes her great pain to use it. Due to the fact she cannot use her magic, every so often it forces it's way out, and she ends up in here. In room #304, to stop her muscles from spasming. She knew apparating would set it off, but she insisted on being here."

Everyone was silent. Hermione's chin was wrinkling more than Stefan's. Seeing his pain bothered her the most, his undying passion.

"Can it be cured? We apparated together to my apartment the other day, and she seemed fine."

"We're working on one. So far, all that will fix it is to be permanently striped of her magic, which is potentially life threatening. She was able to apparate to your apartment because she can do small things here and there but it builds up eventually. I apologize but I must get back to her room." He left.

Molly and Arthur left the room as well, to talk to each other alone. Curiously, Harry followed.

"Harry, we feel Charlotte should stay at the Burrow for the evening. We know she is very safe with you, Dear, but we feel it'd be less stressful for you, and more comfortable for her with us. She could use a good nights sleep, and there won't be any young ones to wake her up." Molly suggested.

Harry nodded in agreement, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley went back into the waiting room. Harry stood outside the door, thinking. He was worried for Charlotte. He was happy that a new Weasley was on the way. Luna looked beautiful. Ginny looked beautiful. Draco Malfoy was walking by.

_Draco Malfoy? I wonder what he's doing on this floor._

As Draco Malfoy walked rather fast passed him, he gave Harry a nod. They had made a truce years ago, but the grudge hadn't passed completely. Harry watched him walk down the hall, and stopped outside the door Stefan has previously gone in. Harry's adrenaline immediately started rushing. Why was Draco going to Charlotte's room?

Stefan opened the door to Charlotte's room, and let Draco inside, then sat on the bench outside the room. Harry walked towards Stefan, his mind wandering with a hundred thoughts at once. He wanted to punch Draco in the face. He wanted to whip his wand out and yell the first spell that came to his mind.

When he reached the room, he peered into the window and saw Charlotte wrapped in a big blanket, and Draco sitting at the foot of her bed. She looked very tired, and was smiling at Draco as they spoke.

"Stefan, why is Malfoy in there with Charlie?" He asked him seriously.

"They're...best friends, Harry. He came to pay a visit like he always does when she's here."

"Best friends? Since when!"

He looked back in through the window. She was sitting up now, and Draco was pouring her a glass of milk, and pulled out a box of what looked like home-made cookies out of his suitcase.

"I know you two have bad history, but they met a year ago and have been best friends ever since. He's the one that convinced her to write to you."


	5. Hello, Dominique Weasley

Ron had his right ear pressed against the door of Fleur's room. There were three voices he heard. The doctors, the nurses, and Bill's. Fleur was breathing heavily and he could hear her squirm in pain. He was about to pull away, not wanting to hear anymore, when he heard what he had been waiting for. A baby crying.

Dominique Weasley was born. It was a quick two hour labor, but was tiring all the same. The pushing was thirty minutes total, and the birth went smoothly. Fleur did a great job, and Bill made sure she knew it. The new happy family sat there with sweat and tears, and a bundle of joy. The little baby had red peach fuzz on top of her head.

"She's here!" Ron cried into the waiting room. Teddy and Victoire started jumping for joy, clapping uncontrollably. Their laughter was louder than everyone in the room.

After twenty minutes, the nurse opened the door and called for Molly and Arthur. As soon as Molly walked through the door and saw Bill standing over Fleur, whom was holding their second baby, she started to cry. She was so proud of her son, and his wife. It was her second grandchild, and she couldn't wait for more.

As Fleur handed baby Dominique to Molly, she cried like a baby herself. Arthur gave Bill a huge hug, and then kissed Fleur on the forehead with a sweet smile.

"Are you parents on their way to see her?" Molly asked.

"Zey should be here soon." Fleur said, tiredly. Molly and Arthur left a few minutes later. Giving everyone else a short visit. Fleur was tired, and had to feed Dominique for the first time, and then rest.

Ginny was tired of waiting. She sat in the waiting room, happy for her brother, but couldn't look away from Harry, Luna, and Teddy.

_That should be me, holding Teddy and smiling at him. Smiling and looking into those gorgeous green eyes. _

She couldn't get her thoughts off of him. She knew their decision was mutual, and that it was best for them at the time. But the only reason she agreed was because she had too. Harry wasn't into it, he was into being a father and no distractions. She knew he had been through a lot, but so had Ginny at that time. She lost her beloved brother, and the love of her teenage years, all in the same couple of months. It would have been nice to have more support from someone who understood.

She stared at them, until she couldn't anymore. She convinced herself they were just best friends, like him and Hermione and left the room. She took the elevator to the lobby. She wanted to get away from everyone, and take a breather.

_A pumpkin spice tea would be nice._

She sat on a black marble stone bench, and watched the witches and wizards scurry around her. She looked through her wallet, but had no luck. She only had two sickles, and she needed much more to get a tea. Tea always calmed her when she thought of him.

"Excuse me, Miss." A young man said. "I was wondering if I could get you a drink. A coffee? A tea? You look like you could really use some."

She was surprised, and was more surprised by how attractive he was. She was instantly charmed by his handsome face. She nodded her head, smiled, and got up and followed him to the coffee stand in the lobby. He was average height, with brown hair that had a tint of red in it. He had gray eyes, and had a small tan. Ginny was impressed.

"My name is Ginny. Ginny Weasley. Yours?" She asked.

"Aiden Greeley. It's very nice to meet you, Ginny Weasley."

She blushed, and stood there not knowing what to do. They were next in line.

"I'll have two teas please. Caramel apple for myself, and.."

"Pumpkin spice please."

"..And pumpkin spice for the lady." He finished.

He grabbed the two mugs, and they walked back to the bench she was previously on.

"So, Ginny Weasley, what brings you to St. Mungo's this evening?"

"My brother and his wife just had a baby. A baby girl, named Dominique. I haven't seen her yet though. How about yourself?"

"I'm here on business." He said. "That's nice, I wish the best for the whole family."

He looked at her with his bright grey eyes, but his eyes spoke sad words.

"I'm sorry to drink and run, but a man I've been waiting for has arrived, and I must go. If you're interested in having dinner sometime, here's where you can owl me." He handed her an address then turned and left.

Ginny sat there, with her pumpkin spice tea cupped in one hand, and a piece of paper in the other. She watched him as he left. He walked up to a man that looked like him, only a little older. _Brother, perhaps. _She thought to herself. The man she thought to be his brother stared at her, and made her uncomfortable. His devilish grin gave her shivers. But Aiden, oh Aiden. She couldn't wait to go home and write him a letter for a dinner date. She would write it, but wouldn't send it until late afternoon. She didn't want to seem desperate.

* * *

Back at the waiting room, when Ginny was back, Molly started to figure out the sleeping arrangements.

Hermione and Ginny were staying in Ginny's room, like usual. George was going back to his apartment downtown, and Charlie was staying in his old bedroom until morning, when he was planning to return back to Romania. Harry and Teddy were going back home, and Luna was going to her own home, with her father. Percy and Penelope already left for their home in the city, for Penelope was very tired.

Hermione, Ginny, Ron, and Charlie all headed to the main floor to Floo powder to the Burrow. George went with them, but apparated instead.

Molly, Arthur, Harry, Ted, and Luna all waited for Charlotte to get out of her room. Harry saw Draco leave her room, and stopped him in the hall.

"Can you tell me how much longer until Charlotte gets released?" He asked him, as nice as he could.

"She's being released as we speak. Won't be long now. Take care." He continued on.

"You too." Harry said as he walked off. It was the nicest thing they've said to each other, and it was two words.

Stefan walked out of the room, and Charlotte followed behind, with a sheet wrapped around her. She looked tired, and cold. Luna walked towards her, and gave her shoulder a touch in reassurance. She smiled weakly.

"So, Charlotte, Molly would like to invite you to stay over at the Burrow for the weekend. You'll get more sleep, and you'll be more comfortable." Harry half smiled.

"I wanted to be around you, but I'd love to stay at the Burrow. Thanks Molly. Stefan has work to do."

"We'll go with you to the Burrow, get Teddy's things, say goodnight, then head out." Harry said.

They all went downstairs, and headed outside.

"Why aren't we apparating or Flooing?" Stefan asked.

"Arthur has a magic flying car. Ron and I crashed his old one in our second year, and I made up for it by buying him a brand new one a couple of years ago. We thought it'd be the best way to get home for Charlotte."

As they reached the vehicle, Arthur, Molly and Teddy took the front seat. Luna and Harry got in the back, and Charlotte said goodbye to Stefan. They shared a very long warm hug. Stefan looked happy and sad at the same time. Charlotte didn't want to let go. He kissed the top of her head, and then let go. He gave her a small kiss on the lips, said a few words, and the apparated as she opened the car door.

Off they went.

"Say, Charlotte, what does Stefan do? He's always off on business." Harry asked her.

"Well, he's an auror. He's actually MY auror. My protector." She said.

"Yours? How so?"

"We didn't meet in a romantic way, Harry. He was originally supposed to protect me from certain dark wizards but we fell in love and he was banned from ever seeing me again. But, he threatened to quit and they need him, so the banishment was lifted. Now that the dark wizards are gone, he still has to protect me though. From new ones."

"New ones?"

"There have been wizards after people like me. People with diseases that cause our magic to be too much for us. They've killed a few witches attempting to strip them of their magic to take for themselves. They're after powerful magic and haven't found a pure-blood with this disease yet. Until myself, so we're on alert."

"How can a wizard take someones magic? If they could do that, why not take some random wizard off the street and take his?"

"It's a little more difficult than that. The magic needs to be bursting from you. To strip you of your magic in the first place you need to stop using it so your body bursts all the magic at once, and then cast the spell to capture it. A normal wizard can use their magic, so they never have that happen."

"I've heard of that case." Arthur said. "At the ministry, they were talking about a top-secret investigation on new dark wizards stealing magic. You're safe with this family, Charlotte."

* * *

At the Burrow, it was more quiet than it had been in months. Hermione and Ginny were at the table drinking peppermint tea, with cream whipped on the top, in their pajamas. It was a really warm night, and they awaited the rest of the family.

"So, what was he like?" Hermione asked, nudging Ginny playfully.

"Very handsome." Ginny whispered, with a grin. "Grey eyes, brownish reddish hair, tall." She was almost daydreaming.

The two girls talked about Aiden Greeley until they heard a rumbling car noise outside the house. Charlie was already in bed sleeping, for he had a long trip ahead of him in the morning.

Arthur was the first to walk through the door. Teddy followed after, holding Molly's hand. Charlotte came in with her sheet wrapped around her still, and Harry stood close by her to make sure she was alright. Luna came in after, and Ginny stiffened up.

"Hey Luna, why are you still here? Everyone else went home." Ginny said, in a rude tone. Harry looked at her as soon as she said 'Luna' and instantly felt the need to defend, but said nothing.

"Oh, I'm here for the same reason Harry is. Charlotte." Luna said, without a care in the world.

Ginny got up from her seat, and left the room.

"Say, Luna, want to spend the night with Teddy and I? We're having a muggle movie night. Interested?" Harry suggested.

Luna nodded her head in excitement, and wrote a letter to her father to let him know and sent out one of the free owls.

Ron walked in. "How are you feeling Charlotte?" He asked.

Charlotte was surprised. He'd never willingly talked to her before. He didn't even blush.

"Okay, thank-you. Tired." She replied.

"Well, I'm going to join Ginny and hit the bed. Hope you feel great by the morning, Charlotte." Hermione said, and meant it whole-heartedly.

Ron followed Hermione, to say goodnight to her before she went to bed. Hermione wanted passion. She wanted him to kiss her hard on the lips goodnight. She wanted him to want to do that. He never did. They kissed, but they never really _**kissed**_.

Once they reached the door to Ginny's room, she turned around and looked into his eyes. They were the same eyes she's been looking in since day one at Hogwarts. Hermione waited. And waited.

"Well, goodnight 'Mione." He lightly kissed her on the forehead, and turned to go downstairs.

"Ron!" Hermione yelled quietly so only he could hear.

He looked confused. He turned around, and faced her. Molly and Charlotte stood at the foot of the stairs. They were about to go upstairs but heard the bickering start, and stopped. Molly turned and went to make Charlotte some tea. Charlotte stayed where she was.

"What?" Ron asked.

"What? Really? We've been dating for how long now? And you're still not showing me any affection! Especially since a very attractive girl has been around the house. It makes me uneasy!" Hermione confessed. Ron was dumb-founded.

"Hermione. What are you talking about? I'm tired, you're tired, and we've had happy news and some rather upsetting news. Of course I'm not going to push on the romance when the tension is so high. Lay off." He turned to leave again.

"Ronald Weasley! How dare you! I've been trying to get you to show affection for months! You don't seem into this at all." She started to tear up.

"Hermione, you know I am. Stop trying to convince yourself otherwise because of your paranoia. It's just the type of person I've always been. You've accepted it all this time until lately. You know that I love you. Now go to sleep, and we'll talk in the morning." He went down the stairs this time. Hermione closed the door behind her, to a sleeping Ginny.

He walked down the stairs to see Charlotte standing at the foot of the stairs holding onto the railing.

"Do you need help up the stairs?" He asked shyly.

"I'm just waiting for your mother."

"Well, looks like you'll be sleeping in Harry's bed all the way upstairs!" Molly said.

"Uh, Mum, Harry's bed is in my room if you don't recall.." Ron said.

"I recall, Ronald. I'm not losing my memory mister! She needs someone in the room with her in case she needs something. She can't share with the girls because well, you know why. You both are in relationships, there's no harm and your father agrees. Do you have a problem with it?"

Ron shook his head, and went upstairs.


	6. Beginnings

As Molly made Charlotte a bowl of soup, Harry carried her up to Ronald's room. She had fallen asleep waiting and was awoken by him picking her up, but she was too tired and weak to walk up all the stairs on her own.

When Harry got to the room that he had stayed in countless times, he walked in and saw the room almost clean. Almost.

"Blimey, since when do you clean your room?" Harry whispered.

"I have a guest and didn't want to be rude." Ron said. "And you don't count as one, you're family, so don't open that mouth of yours!"

Harry laughed quietly and put Charlotte on the bed that was once his. He tucked her in, but she had woken up. She sat up in the bed as Molly brought in some delicious hot soup. Ron's mouth watered and before Molly could even tell him there was more in the pot -knowing he'd want some- he was already out the door.

"Here you are. It's hot, so be careful. Comfortable?" Molly smiled.

Charlotte nodded and hugged her. Molly turned and left after saying goodnight to Harry.

"I'm going home with Teddy now, I'll be back early in the morning for breakfast. Luna requested to come as well, to see you."

"To see me? That's nice, I rather like Luna. Although, she wants to see you too." Charlotte winked.

Harry blushed and opened the window to cover it. He let the cool summer breeze blow in. Ron came in with a big bowl of soup. Charlotte patted her bed, and invited him to eat his with her.

He took her invitation and sat down. Harry hugged Charlotte, and smacked Ron, then left.

"You're skinny for a young man that eats that much." Charlotte said.

"Yeah." He said. "You're a girl, could I ask for some advice, or some answers?"

Charlotte nodded.

"Hermione wants romance and passion. I don't know why, but I can't give it to her. I love her, I've loved her since we were in first year. You and Stefan have what she wants. How do I do it?"

"You can't force it, Ron. It'll happen on it's own. Hermione just needs to be patient with you. Stefan has just always been this way. He's a serious person. Every relationship has it's flaws."

Ron couldn't imagine her and Stefan having any flaws. To him they were the happily ever after couple. Was Hermione his happily ever after?

They finished their soup, and Ron removed himself from Charlotte's bed, and got into his. He turned off the light with his illuminator and the moonlight shone in beautifully.

Downstairs, Harry was getting Teddy ready to go. Molly handed him the cake that Hagrid had made him and he held it in his left hand. He held Teddy's hand with the other. Luna, Harry and Teddy left at the same time.

"Hey Luna," Harry started, as they walked out the front door, "Ready to go back to my flat for movie night?

Luna nodded her head with a brilliant smile, and Teddy jumped up and down. "Yay Loona!"

"Hold my arm, and we'll apparate."

Luna blushed, but Harry couldn't see in that in the dark. As Luna reached up and linked arms with him, he too blushed.

* * *

The sun brightened Ronald's room, and caused Charlotte to wake up. Ron was still fast asleep, so Charlotte quietly got out of her bed, and closed the curtains. She was satisfied with the sleep she just had, so instead of going back to bed, she decided to go downstairs.

She left the bedroom, and made her way downstairs. It was only five in the morning, so everyone else was still asleep. She went down three flights of stairs when a bedroom door swung open.

"R-Ron?" Hermione said with messy bedhead.

"No, sorry, just me." Charlotte half smiled. "Just making some tea. Would you like some?"

Hermione shut the door, and came back out with a blanket. The two girls got into the kitchen, and it was oddly quiet. As the teapot was boiling, the young women remained silent.

Charlotte poured the hot water in two tea cups, and put the tea bags in. As she walked over to the table and placed Hermione's in front of her, Hermione spoke up.

"I hope you don't think I'm bonkers, Charlotte. I know everyone could hear us arguing last night. I didn't mean any offense to you."

"I understand. I don't think you're mad, I think you're simply a woman in love and hurting. You just need to talk to one another. It's the cure for almost everything, talking."

Hermione pondered that for a moment, and took a sip of her steamy tea.

"He loves you, you know. Whether he be the one you end your days with, or not, he'll always be in your life. Just don't rush life, let it happen as it does."

Hermione smiled, and Charlotte squeezed her knee in reassurance.

* * *

As Harry woke up, he went to stretch his arms out, when he realized Luna's head was rested on his chest. He immediately remembered the whole evening.

He remembered walking into his apartment with Teddy asleep in his arms, and Luna carried the cake and Teddy's backpack considerately.

He remembered putting Teddy to bed, and saying 'so much for a movie night' or something along the lines.

He remembered opening a bottle of friendly wine, and having friendly conversations with Luna until the bottle was empty.

He remembered when she got close to his face, and just smiled at him.

He remembered her taking his arm, and putting it around her, and they laid out on his pull out couch bed.

He remembered her kissing his lips so softly it was almost impossible, right before they fell asleep. It was only a kiss, and only lasted merely seconds, but it made his head dizzy, and it wasn't because of the wine. A kiss had never been more sweet, a kiss _couldn't _be so sweet.

Waking up, he looked down and saw white blonde hair all over the place. Her hair was long and lightly ratted. He thought it was to be the cutest thing to wake up to.

Luna finally woke up, and removed the crust from her eyes and looked up at Harry. Her eyes were tired, and her make up was gone. Her face was pale, but divine. She smiled at him, but realized this wasn't normal. It felt like it was right, and had always been this way. But it wasn't, and when she realized, she got up and fixed herself.

Harry frowned at that, but agreed in his mind and to their benefit Teddy had come in. Avoided unwanted awkward feelings between them.

"Morning little man!" Harry got up.

"Papa, papa!" He ran at Teddy and jumped as Harry picked him up. Luna showed herself to the washroom to freshen up.

She stood in front of the mirror, staring at herself. _How could he be smiling at this?_

Harry cut off her thoughts by knocking on the door, she opened it up a crack. "What's Teddy doing?" She asked.

"He's coloring. May I come in?" Luna opened the door a smidge more for him.

"I just got a letter from Dean and Seamus. The restaurant opens tonight. Would you like to join me, Charlotte and Stefan?"

"Like..like a double date?" Luna asked.

Harry turned a little pink, but said, "Like a date." He scratched his messy head of hair.

Luna nodded and Harry left the room. Luna's mind rushed with thoughts._ Hmm, a date with Harry. How odd. We went on a "date" in sixth year to Slughorn's party, maybe it will be like that. What will I wear? What if it's a real date? A real date? I need Charlotte's help!  
_

She used Harry's brush to brush her knotty hair, and washed her face. She gave herself one more look, and decided it wouldn't get any better than that, and opened the door to the smell of coffee brewing.

* * *

Everyone in the Burrow was awake now. Molly was busy in the kitchen, Charlotte and Hermione were still talking away at the table. Hermione didn't exactly favor Charlotte, but she enjoyed talking to someone as intelligent as her.

Ronald and Ginny were bickering upstairs over whom gets to shower first. When the smell of food found Ron's nostrils, he soon gave up and quickly followed the scent. He walked over to Hermione first, kissed the top of her head, then walked over to his mother and the stove.

He raised his hand to grab a piece of the buttered toast, and she smacked his hand down. "Breakfast is almost ready Ronald, sit down!"

He sat down beside Hermione and had a gloomy expression and his stomach was growling. Arthur came in and sat in his seat at the end of the table, and Ginny came in afterwards with her hair up in a towel.

"I hope Harry gets here soon, it's time for breakfa.." Harry cut Molly off, for he had apparated outside the door with Luna and Teddy.

The three walked in, and was greeted happily. Ginny rolled her eyes, and felt embarrassed for looking the way she did. She was jealous of Luna, and was disappointed of how nice she looked this morning.

They took their seats, and breakfast was served. Buttered toast, and home made jam on the side. Stacks of hot buttery pancakes with the sweetest syrup slopped on with strawberries on top and a cold glass of milk, or orange juice to drink. The meal was delicious.

"Charlotte, what's Stefan doing tonight?" Harry asked.

"He's not working, so I was going to go to the apartment for dinner. Why do you ask?"

"Would you like to accompany Luna and I to the Empire of the Expelliarmus? It's opening tonight."

"Ou, a double date, how marvelous. We'll be there."

Harry didn't ask her in a whisper, he asked her in a normal voice. He wasn't going to hide the fact Luna and him were planning to go on a date. He did feel sensitive toward Ginny, but he wasn't going to hurt Luna's feelings by keeping it a secret.

"Everyone else is invited to the opening tonight as well. "Harry said. "There are two tables reserved."

While everyone began to dig in, there was a knock at the door. Molly got up and opened it.

It was Draco Malfoy, with a sympathetic look on his face.

"Draco!" Charlotte got up from her seat and went over to greet him with a hug. "Why are you here?"

"Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, is alright if I come in for a few minutes. There's a couple of things I need to say."

"Of course." She showed him in. Charlotte took his hand and gave it a quick squeeze. "What is it?"

"First, I would like to formally apologize for the rivalry. It's been over for years, but even so, I would like to give my family's apology. I'm here on Charlie's behalf. I overheard someone in the lobby parking lot. She's in danger, or will be."

Everyone was stunned, and floo-called Stefan. After hearing the news, Stefan and a fellow co-worker Thomas was over within five minutes.

Charlotte clinged to Stefan, but she did not look afraid. Stefan on the other hand, was furious.

"There was two men, one of which I recognized, the other is a complete stranger. They were discussing a women's daughter. They said there was a women they attempted to steal her magic from but she died in the process like all the others. But her daughter, they think will be the one to survive, being the daughter of a Black."

"How could they know of my father?" Charlotte asked. _My mother was murdered?_


	7. The Empire of the Expelliarmus

Furious and scared, Stefan agreed to attend the opening night of Empire of the Expelliarmus. He insisted an Auror being at every entrance, and so it was. Stefan's co-worker, Thomas, was to be seated 2 seats away from their table to keep watch as well.

Precautions had to be made now. Charlotte's safety was being threatened, and they had no idea when. Draco volunteered to go to the Ministry everyday to keep an eye out for the two men. It would be dangerous but Charlotte's safety was important to him.

After hearing the news Draco had come to share, Molly and Arthur invited him to sit with them for breakfast. He felt awkward and embarrassed but Charlotte nudged him and he agreed helplessly. He sat next to Stefan and looked around the table at the people who had hated him for most of his life.

Oddly, Ronald was the only one that seemed a little upset at his presence.

"So, you two are best friends?" Hermione asked, the question aimed at Draco. Ron's face flushed.

"Always have been." He smiled.

_Since when did Draco have a nice smile? Since when did he smile at all?_

"Really? Is there a story we could hear?" Hermione asked.

Draco nodded. "We were raised together, we're practically siblings." Draco gave Charlotte a look. She looked uneasy, as if she didn't want them to know the story. "Her mother and mine were...best friends. When she was pregnant, we hide her at the Manor in France so she wasn't interrogated about who the father was. My parents didn't even know who. Charlotte _practically_ lived at the Manor with me until school started. When Sirius died, Lillian told Charlotte who her father was and told her to write Dumbledore, so she did. When Voldermort was defeated, she no longer had to stay hidden from _him_ but had to stay hidden from people like the Greeley brothers. I eventually convinced Stefan and Charlotte to write to Harry and finally she did."

Charlotte put her hand on his, and kept it there for a while.

"Empire is open today Draco, we're going on a double date, but if you have no dinner plans you can join if you'd like." Harry said to him.

"Who are you taking? I thought you and the Weasley girl broke it off?" Draco asked.

"I asked Luna to come with me." Harry answered. Draco nodded in approval.

Breakfast was eaten up an hour later, and everyone began to put their dishes in the sink to be washed. Molly went upstairs to fetch a dry towel for the dishes, and when she came back Draco was already washing the dishes. Molly put up a fight, but she smiled and dried the dishes that he washed.

* * *

"Charlotte!" Luna hollered.

Charlotte walked into Luna's bedroom. It was an odd bedroom. There were objects Charlotte had never seen before, it was like walking into a fairytale.

"What is it Luna? Oh! You look lovely." Charlotte beamed. Luna took the dress off, revealing her petite porcelain skinned body.

"It's lovely, but is it the right dress? This is my first date with Harry! I can't just wear any dress. Help!"

"Okay. Your hair is white, so any color will look divine on you! But this one says something to me." She picked one of the dresses up.

"I never thought of that one!" Luna screamed, and put it on as fast as she could.

They both looked at Luna in the mirror, smiling. It was the dress she would wear on her date with Harry.

At the Burrow, Harry and Stefan awkwardly got prepared for their dates.

"Stefan?" Harry began.

"What is it? Nervous for your date?" Stefan winked.

"Yes. I'm thinking a thousand thoughts at the same time. The boy who defeated Voldermort is more afraid of this date!"

"What are you afraid of exactly?"

"It going wrong. Luna means a lot to me, and she's a woman now. I'm a man. I just want something to go right. I left Ginny because of Teddy, and I will never regret that choice again."

"Are you able to keep raising Teddy with Luna?"

"I believe so."

Stefan tightened his tie. "Well, then that's that. No matter what happens during this date, you'll have her."

Harry relaxed, and patted Stefan on the back.

"We should head out now, Charlotte made me promise we would leave on time."

Stefan and Harry made their way downstairs. "Everyone ready?" Stefan asked Molly, Arthur, Ginny, George, Ron and Hermione.

Ginny was wearing a dark blue dress, that was tight and stopped at her knees. When Harry walked down the stairs, his stomach tightened at the sight of her, but not the same way it used to. She looked attractive and he acknowledged it, but he didn't feel for her.

One after the other, the group Flooed to the restaurant. Harry and Stefan were the last to Floo, and they were greeted by many people. Flashes blinded them from the cameramen.

"Who ya coming with Harry!" One photographer shouted.

"Is this your date!" Another shouted, implying Stefan was his date.

After they escaped the paparazzi they were greeted by Dean and Seamus and shortly after they were shown to their seats. Before they sat down a couple of photographers that were allowed inside took a quick photo of Harry shaking hands with both Dean and Seamus. "Thanks Harry." Dean whispered in Harry's ear.

Molly, Arthur, Ginny, and George sat down at their table -which was across from Harry's- and Ron and Hermione shared a table alone next to them.

Hermione wore a strapless red dress that fell to the floor. Her hair was done up and curls hit her shoulder gently. Her makeup was lightly put on, and looked natural. Ron pulled her chair out for her, and she sat down. His face was as red as her dress, seeing her this beautiful.

"You look lovely." He managed to spit out.

"Thank you. Now relax, you look very handsome." She blushed.

Harry and Stefan were joined at their table by Draco.

Ginny sat at her table with her brother and her parents, looking at Harry. _He didn't look at me that way he used to._ She knew he was taking a date, because Stefan was with him, and Charlotte wasn't yet. She knew who the date was, but she was in denial. She stared until her eyes watered, and took a drink from her glass to hide it. As she looked over at Hermione to get a reassuring smile, she got the exact opposite. Hermione's eyes were wide and happy. Ginny looked over at Harry, and all three boys were standing.

Charlotte and Luna walked to the table, linking arms. Luna wore a deep misty purple dress that had one strap on her left arm, and her hair dangled in a braid on the right arm. Her wrists wore multiple charm bracelets, and her hair had an outrageous purple feather clipped in. Charlotte wore a short tight dress, that was peach/salmon colored and revealed her tattooed skin. It was strapless and revealed a floral tattoo that covered her upper left arm. Her hair wasn't done up nicely, she simply straightened it and let it hang loose.

When they got to the table, Charlotte hugged Draco, and sat next to Stefan, greeting him with a kiss. When Luna got to Harry, she stood there unsure of what to do. Harry was unsure as well, so naturally he pulled her chair out and she sat down.

"This place is beautiful!" Charlotte announced.

And it was. Harry adored the restaurant. It had such a resemblance to Hogwarts. The ceiling was the same as Hogwarts, when you looked up you saw a night sky with candles magically hanging above them for light. The walls were made of stone, and had golden banners hanging all around. The restaurant was quickly getting packed and loud with excitement.

Their table had a gold silk table cloth over top with an autumn center piece containing a small pumpkin with real leaves that magically changed colors. It was early October now, so the theme of the restaurant had a crisp feeling.

"Hello, I'm Flori. I will be your waitress for the evening. Here are your menus. May I get you a drink to start?"

Draco started. "I'd like a glass of red wine, Pinot Noir, and a small glass of water on the side please."

"Actually, could you bring a whole bottle of Pinot Noir and 5 glasses for all of us?" Stefan requested.

"Of course. Would anyone else like a non-alcoholic beverage on the side?"

Charlotte and Stefan ordered iced tea with a lemon on the side, and Harry and Luna ordered pumpkin juice.

Flori wrote everything down and headed to the Weasley's tables. Harry looked over, and saw Ginny looking disappointed. He felt a cringe of guilt, but started to chose his dinner with Luna.

"What do you think you'll order, Lou?" Harry asked curiously.

"I don't know what to choose! Look at this menu! I can't wait for dessert!"

Flori walked over with the drinks. "There's a special going on all week. With your meal, you get the appetizers and dessert free." She smiled. The wine bottle was in a cauldron of ice at the end of the table. "Do you need another five minutes to decide what to eat?"

"For an appetizer could you bring over Dragon Egg Bread with Dragonheart Dipping Sauce?" Draco ordered.

Flori wrote it down, and went to the other table she was serving. After five minutes, the appetizer appeared on the table. Just like it did at Hogwarts.

Stefan cracked open the wine bottle and poured everyone a glass. "Cheers!"

After five minutes, their waitress took their orders. And twenty minutes after that, the meal magically appeared before their eyes and the scent filled their nostrils.

Two glasses of wine later, their meals were done. Charlotte and Luna had salmon, steamed vegetables, vegetable rice. And the boys had steak, potatoes and kidney pie. There was also 'Forbidden Forest Salad' on the side. They ate what they could, saving room for dessert.

"I think we should get the Sweet Supreme for dessert! It's an endless amount of treats. Treacle Tarts, Pumpkin Pasties, Chocolate Frogs, Licorice Wands, and Peppermint Toads!" Charlotte suggested.

Everyone agreed, and shortly after it appeared before them.

"This is delicious!" Luna announced.

"We should bake some with Teddy next week, what say you Luna?" Harry offered.

"I'd like that." Luna smiled.

Stefan poured everyone another glass of wine, and the conversations got louder and more joyous. Harry and Luna told them stories of fun times at Hogwarts, and teased Draco a little, and he teased back.

"What sort of fun have you two gotten into?" Harry asked.

Draco looked at Charlotte, and her smile left her face a little bit. "We don't have fun like that. We have fun together alone, but nothing out of the ordinary. Had to grow up fast, you know how it is."

Stefan put his hand on hers and squeezed. She smiled at him, and took a sip of her wine.

Suddenly Draco stood from his seat, but sat back down. "Stefan." He whispered, "That man is the man I overheard talking about Charlotte."

Charlotte went for her purse.

"Charlotte, you know you can't use magic, don't, please."

Yes, Charlotte still carried her wand with her. It makes her feel less of a witch when she doesn't, and in case of emergencies.

"What's going on?" Harry asked, adrenaline rushing. Ron noticed the change in expression at their table and told Hermione to look.

"That bastard is the man that was talking to his brother about Charlotte and her mother."

Hermione read his lips, and turned around. "Ron.."

"You mean the man talking to Ginny right now?" Harry said enraged. He got up on impulse.

"Excuse me sir, would you mind not talking to this young lady and leave?" He said.

Ginny was shocked. "Harry! What on earth is your problem!" He ignored her. Ron stood from his seat.

Draco and Stefan were right beside Harry now, and Dean and Seamus too. "Is there a problem?"

"Where's your girl, Williams?" Aiden's brother, Kaine, winked at Stefan.

"You? YOU!" Stefan pointed his wand in his face, and they apparated.

"Ginny, how do you know that man?"

"Tell me what's going on! I only know Aiden. I don't know his brother."

"Those men killed Charlotte's mother, and they're after her now. What's his last name?"

"Greeley."

"What is going on, Harry?" Dean asked.

"Sorry Dean, we'll be leaving now. Thanks for the meal, this place is beyond amazing."

"I don't think they knew Charlotte was involved with my family. I think Aiden and myself met, and it just so happens Charlotte is staying with me and now they know it. Aiden came over and asked me why I didn't write to him. We met when Dominique was born. He saw me and came over with his brother."

"And now they know who she's with, and will eventually find out where she is. This is getting out of hand." Stefan sighed.

"Don't be silly! Charlotte is family now, we're willing to do whatever it takes. They know who is protecting her now, maybe they'll back off?" Molly said hopeful.

"Nonsense, Molly. Now they will be plotting." Arthur spoke. "Charlotte is to stay at our home, and at Harry's. We can switch every couple of days to change it up."

They were all at the Burrow now, in the family room discussing the matter.

Ron noticed Charlotte wasn't in the room, and went to see where she was. He heard cursing coming from outside. It was dark, so he didn't see anything.

"Hello?" He said as he stepped into the darkness.

Ron could see light from the field. It was spells being cast in every direction. "Oi!" He yelled inside, and then ran to the field before anyone else.

"Charlotte?" He called out. He heard quiet crying.

"Go away Ronald." More spells were cast, and a slight scream was given.

"What are you doing!" Ron yelled and ran to her faster.

"Leave!" Charlotte demanded. "Reducto!"

When he got to her he took her wand from her hands and shoved it next to him, and she tried to put up a fight. He grabbed her and held her until she gave up and just burst into tears. By now, everyone was surrounding them.

"What has happened!" Arthur shouted.

"Charlotte.." Stefan whispered. He took her from Ronald, and carried her. "We need to go to her room and get her potion."

No questions were asked. They all walked back to the Burrow, and Stefan took her to Ronald's room. Only Ron followed.

"Since you'll be with her all night, this is her muscle relaxing potion. She'll be in pain all night, but just give her more if she asks for it."

Ron nodded.

Stefan and Ron left her in her bed. She fell asleep as soon as her head hit the pillow.

"What happened?" Harry asked when they returned.

"Don't think she's crazy, or suicidal because she's not. She just can't handle situations that concern others, and her anger explodes. She casts spells to get it out of her, it feels good for her to release her magic even though afterwards it hurts. She hates the situation she's in. Who wouldn't?"

"Is this her wand?" Ron said, confused.

"Yes, why?"

"It's identical to mine."

Ron stood holding two wands, not knowing which one was his. He tried both of them out and determined which one was his easily.

"Ollivander told me mine was the only one of it's kind. It's a replacement wand. My first one broke."

"That's odd. Maybe there's a connection in your magic. I'll look into it. If there's a bond between your magic.." Stefan trailed off into thought.


	8. The End of Two

It was the end of October, and the match between the Bulgarian National Team and the Gorodok Gargoyles had finally arrived. The trees were shedding the last of their leaves, and the air was so crisp that you could almost see your breath. As the young adults walked towards their portkey, the leaves crunched under their boots.

Stefan had his arm around Charlotte's shoulders, and her arm was around his waist. Charlotte gave Luna an encouraging wink, and Luna went in for the kill. She slipped her mitted hand into Harry's and held her breath. He blushed and squeezed back, and she exhaled happily.

Ginny didn't notice. Her mind was in the clouds. It had been a while since she'd seen a quidditch match, and she missed it dearly. George had his face painted red to support the Bulgarians, and all the girls had red lipstick.

"When is Malfoy coming?" Ron grunted.

"Which are you referring to?" Charlotte asked.

"Draco, obviously?"

"Was it that hard to say his first name? Ha-ha. He's meeting us at our campsite with Viktor."

"Krum?" He growled.

"Oh Ron, you adored him until he took me to the Yule Ball! Hush up." Hermione said shortly, then kissed his fiery red cheek. "How do you know Viktor, Charlotte?"

"Him and I go way back. When the time came for Draco and I to attend school naturally I couldn't attend Hogwarts. I wouldn't be hidden well. I got accepted to Durmstrang. Draco wanted to go, but his mother forbid it."

"Durmstrang is an all boys school, isn't it?"

"Exceptions were made. Naturally it got a lot of attention there." Charlotte answered.

"Must have got tons of attention from the boys! Being the only girl. Wait a minute. Karkaroff was the headmaster. Why would your mother enroll you in a school with a death eater for a headmaster, when you were hiding from them?"

"Not really." Stefan answered. "She dated Viktor all of her third year so she was off bounds for a while." He smirked.

"But," Charlotte cut in, "I had my eye on Stefan, and Viktor met a girl at Hogwarts." Charlotte winked at Hermione. Ron flushed. "And, being enrolled was tricky business. Lucius and Narissa enrolled me. They went to Igor and had planned to Oblivate him if anything went wrong or they thought he couldn't be trusted. He treasured Lucius's friendship though, so they didn't think it would come to that. There was no sign of him being untrustworthy, so after the interview they found him to be very useful. He had an addiction for impressive students and he was intrigued by what the hat had told him about me. We weren't sorted into houses, but a hat would tell him our potential and secrets."

"How'd you manage at school? When did you realize you couldn't use your magic?" George asked.

"My mother and I knew something was wrong the moment my magic burst out. I was 6." Charlotte paused. She hated the memory she was thinking of. "As for school... That was a challenge. I was in the nursery often. Durmstrang is all about being prepared, and they're strict. I attended all of the fitness classes, and all of the classes that didn't involve using magic. Like potions. And for the rest, I was to watch and learn. And then I'd be put to the test and had to be sure I could do it. They were always successful, but I'd always end up in the nursery."

"Fitness class?"

"Ah, yes. Durmstrang isn't like Hogwarts. Hogwarts is warm, and beautiful. Durmstrang is cold, and strict. But in a way, I'm glad I went there. It made me who I am. You're made to be tough, strong, powerful and a leader. Fitness classes were tough, but I'm addicted. It was like being in a gym for a full day, gaining muscle, building discipline and bettering your body."

"Sounds harsh." Ron said.

"I still train on my own, it was harsh but worth it."

"Here's the portkey." George announced. "Grab hold in 3!"

"Where are we? This isn't the..." Ron started. "NO WAY! We get to set camp where the quidditch players stay?"

"Like a kid on Christmas." Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Compliments of Viktor." Charlotte said.

George set up their tent and everyone went inside except for Stefan and Charlotte.

"Draco! Over here!" Charlotte waved.

Viktor and Draco made their way over. Charlotte hugged them both.

"Nervous for the game?"

"Never." Viktor answered.

Ginny emerged from the tent, hearing that there were more voices.

"Oh, Viktor! This is Ginny Weasley. She plays quidditch as well. Currently working on making her own quidditch team. Better watch out!" Charlotte teased.

"A player?" Viktor asked, intrigued. "Beautiful. Want to meet and impress the team, Miss Weasley?" He held out his arm. She took the offer and off they walked.

By this time, everyone was out of the tent. Ronald was prepared to mark his territory again but Viktor's eyes were elsewhere.

Harry found Luna's hand, and gave it a squeeze. She looked concerned that Harry would be jealous. He wasn't. He was happy for Ginny.

It was time for the group to take their places in the auditorium. Their seats were directly in the middle, and they could see the whole match perfectly. Charlotte and Luna stood together, and Stefan stood with Draco. The trio were in conversation about Ginny.

"Harry, did it bother you at all?" Hermione asked, thoughtfully.

"No, actually. I felt a little protective but I'll always feel that way toward her. I hope Krum sees how wonderful she is and something sparks. They're perfect for each other when it comes to quidditch."

Ron nodded in approval and Hermione gave him a happy smile.

The quidditch players walked onto the field with their brooms. "Where's Ginny? The match is starting!" Hermione wondered.

All of the quidditch players took flight and everyone waited for Viktor Krums big enterance. The crowd started cheering even harder at the sight of him. He did his usual tricks and crowd pleasers, but something was different this time. No one could make it out at first, but as he flew closer, they noticed it was Ginny holding on behind Viktor. He flew around the whole stadium very fast with her squeezing his waist tightly. He stopped in front of the box the group were standing in, and she stood on the broom, and stepped into the booth.

He kissed her hand farewell and flew away, pumping the crowd up some more. Ginny couldn't take her eyes off of him, grinning like a fool.

Hermione clinged to Ginny's side. "That must have been amazing!"

"Doesn't it just make you want to be out there playing?" Ginny asked Harry. It was the first time she had spoken to him in a positive way in a long time.

"Agreed!"

Thomas, Stefan's partner, appeared behind Stefan. He tried not to be seen by anyone else, but Hermione saw him and nudged Harry and Ron. The three of them watched the two whisper back and forth, and moved closer to hear.

They watched Stefan take out an envelope from his jacket, look at it, and put it back.

"It won't come to that, Williams." Thomas patted him on the back in reassurance.

"Come to what?" Hermione whispered in wonder.

"Charlotte, we must go now." Stefan demanded.

"The match just started..." Charlotte trailed off, realizing it was mandatory. "Okay."

"We're going with you." Harry said. "George can stay here with Ginny."

"No. Charlotte is leaving with me. We'll go to the Burrow after the match." Stefan grabbed Charlottes arm gently but firmly, and they left.

Once Charlotte and Stefan were out of the Stadium, they stopped.

"Explain now."

"There was a sighting of the Greeley brothers. Can't risk it."

"Let's go home." Charlotte said.

* * *

Charlotte walked in first, and slid off her jacket and let it hit the floor. She hadn't been in their apartment for what seemed like ages. Stefan locked the door and looked up at the trail of clothing on the floor leading to the bedroom and looked up more to Charlotte standing in the doorway. The only thing covering her was her long black hair.

She turned away from him, and disappeared into the bedroom.

He followed her to the bedroom. The lights were off and she stood against the wall. The light that shone in through the window silhouetted her figure.

He didn't walk in right away. He looked at her for a long time before he moved any closer.

He apparated in front of her, and cupped her face in his hands, kissing her hard on the lips. They were softer then he remembered. He lifted her small body in his arms, and she wrapped her legs around him.

He carried her to his bed and gently laid her down, lost in her lips.

"I love you Charlotte." He whispered.

* * *

Walking into the Burrow was different this time. It didn't feel as warm and inviting. There were people shouting, and it felt tense.

When Charlotte and Stefan opened the door, everything shushed.

"What's going on?" Charlotte asked. "Why is Thomas here?"

"After the match, the portkey to take them home was tampered with. It took them to a hospital room. There was a bed with straps inside. I think these brothers took our family for granted, they got away safely. We're ordering protection for Charlotte. We would have contacted you, but we didn't know where to send an owl." Arthur explained.

Stefan let go of Charlotte's hand. Business time had come again. He made his way to Thomas and discussed the matter.

"We set up alarms at all the possible houses they might check for her. If they start going off, we know they're looking for her and that they'll be here too."

"Charlotte, Thomas and I will guard your bedroom. Go rest." Stefan told her. She did so.

Everyone else remained in the kitchen, planning. They turned all the lights out, and lit a few candles. The darkness of the house would trick any intruder into thinking everyone was asleep.

It was midnight, and no one was tired. They were quietly chatting amongst themselves. Even Charlotte was awake with Stefan by her side. He brushed his fingers through her hair, and admired her.

Quarter after one, there were 3 *cracks* outside. They all hushed, and waited in anticipation for them to open the front door. Stefan left Charlottes room to wait outside with Thomas. They were both at the ready.

The wizards magically unlocked the front door and opened it. Light entered the room as everyone at once shouted, "Stupefy!"

There were four of them, but they didn't see Aiden or Kaine. Draco ran up to the bedroom where Stefan and Thomas were.

"Greeley brothers aren't down here." All three of them immediately went into Charlotte's room. She wasn't in her bed, she was standing in the corner of the room with her wand at the ready.

"Why hello Williams." Kaine Greeley said.

Stefan grinded his teeth, standing in front of Charlotte, his wand pointing at Kaine.

"Where's this famous Mr. Potter? We hardly got to know each other earlier." His devilish eyes glared, as he remembered earlier.

The bedroom door swung open once more and Hermione, Ginny, Ron and Harry emerged in. "Their taken care of. Easy lot." Then realized who was in the room and extended their wands immediately.

"We don't want to kill her. Give her to us and we'll return her by morning." Kaine ordered.

"Expelliarmus!" Ginny pointed at Aiden's wand, and it hit the floor and he drew his hands up in retreat.

Stefan grabbed Charlotte's side with his free hand. He felt her shaking.

Kaine and Aiden were out numbered, and began to think of a way out.

Harry stood along side Draco. Aiden made one step towards his wand, and Ron cast a spell so quick he was on the ground.

Kaine was by himself now and began to panic.

"Kaine, you can stop this now. No one has to get hurt." Stefan started. "Stop thinking. Just give up. You'll never harm Charlotte."

"Not with you around. Avada..."

"Charlotte." Stefan turned around and faced her one last time before his eyes went blank.

"Kedevra."

Draco raised his wand and pointed it at Kaine. "Avada Ked..." Aiden jumped in front of Kaine. "evra." Aiden's body went cold. Kaine apparated out with Aiden's body.


	9. Final Goodbye

_No! Stefan! _

The last seconds of his life were silent to Charlotte. She watched him turn to her, she watched his sad expression go blank and empty.

Her cries filled the entire house. Her knees fell to the floor and she stared at Stefan's cold body. By now everyone was in the bedroom, no one knew what to do.

Her cries were so loud, she was bursting. Harry tried to help her up, but she fell back down and apparated with his body. She apparated down to the kitchen. The pain shot through her body. She apparated outside. More pain. She felt the magic draining her body. She kissed Stefan's forehead one last time. Looked at his handsome face. Grazed his cheek. One last time.

Draco apparated outside and caught her before she could again. She tried, but the pain made her faint. He lifted her up and carried her inside.

"Here. Take her to a bed to rest. Thomas, come help with the..." He couldn't finish. The tears boiled in his eyes.

He passed Charlotte to Ron. "Ronald, take her to my bed." Molly whispered. And he did so. He carried the shaking girl to his parents bedroom. When he put her down, Molly and Arthur stood by her side, as well as Harry. Tears escaped their eyes.

Draco and Thomas stood in front of Stefan's body for a while. Exchanging memories, patted each other on the back, choking back tears.

Two Auror's apparated there and Thomas left with them and Stefan's body.

Draco returned inside and climbed into bed with Charlotte and held her. She twitched in her sleep and tears slid down her cheeks. She was dreaming.

Hermione peaked her head in the doorway, and saw Draco holding Charlotte from behind. Shaking uncontrollably by quiet his cries. Tears spilled from her eyes. The sound of a grown man crying, and the sound of a girl's shattered heart; broke her down.

Everyone in the kitchen was speechless. Molly made everyone tea and Arthur spoke up.

"Sleeping arrangements are to be made. Harry, you go home to Teddy and Luna. As for everyone else, the Grimmauld Place would be much better for you to stay for the night considering the circumstances. Except for Ronald. You'll stay with us here."

"Why Ron?" Hermione asked. She wanted him to stay with her.

"If this bond is real, he'll need to be here."

Hermione nodded.

"Harry?" Draco called. He was standing in the doorway of the bedroom. His eyes were puffy and pink.

"Yes?"

"She seems to be in a lot of pain. All the apparating. Her potion is here. She needs 3/4 of a cup when she wakes up."

"Where are you off to?"

"Ministry business. Thomas will need my assistance. Also, I killed Aiden tonight. I have explaining to do. Everyone's going to know who Charlotte is now. Make sure to keep newspapers away from her."

Harry nodded and gave his shoulder a squeeze. "Stop by to check on her later."

The Burrow was empty, all except for Molly, Arthur, Ronald and Charlotte.

Ron was sitting by her side. She was shaking and kept moving her head. He put his hand on hers to reassure her someone was there, but she woke up instantly by his touch.

"Here. Take your medicine with this tea." He said gently.

She took her medicine and laid back down. After a few confusing moments, it hit her. She pulled the blankets over her head in silence.

"Ron, would you mind carrying Charlotte to her bed?" Molly whispered gently.

He nodded, and carefully lifted her from the bed, and carried her up the stairs. He put her in Harry's old bed, and tucked her in.

Ron sat in the chair next to her bed, and fell asleep sitting up.

* * *

At four in the morning, he felt a tap on his knee that woke him up. Charlotte was looking up at him, her face was no longer puffy. Just blank.

"I want to go for a walk." She said.

"Can I keep you company?" He replied. He had to go with her no matter what, in case she needed something.

She nodded and got up from the bed. She picked up a sweater of Ron's, and put it on. It was maroon, and 5 sizes too big for her.

"Here, put these over top of yours. It's chilly out." He passed a pair of his pajama pants to her. "And these. Don't worry, they're clean." A pair of wool socks.

She left the room after him, taking her time. They were quiet because it was 4:00 in the morning after all.

She bent down to put her rubber boots on, and as she got up Ron put a fuzzy hunting hat on top of her head.

"What a fashionable outfit." She joked, without laughing. Baggy, plaid pajama pants tucked in black rubber boots, a massive maroon sweater, and a fuzzy hunting hat.

She opened the door and walked out. It was lightly snowing, but it wasn't freezing so they started on their walk. She headed toward the field, and walked through. They walked in silence for a while.

After an hour of walking, the snowflakes were much larger. They were in the forest near the Burrow and the sun slowly began to rise. Charlotte stopped walking, and found a log and sat on it. She looked down and started playing with her boots and the wood chips on the ground.

"I feel so dead." She said. Ron didn't have anything to say. He crouch down in front of her and made eye contact.

"I lost my older brother in the last battle." It was the first time anyone in the family had talked about Fred to her. Harry had previously explained the battle and who was lost, and not to mention him.

"His name was Fred, Georges twin."

"Losing a twin...I can't imagine losing my second half." She whispered. "It's so frustrating. It doesn't feel real. He can't be gone. We were going to get married, and protect each other."

"Does it feel like your heart is going to sort of...explode?"

She nodded, and he wrapped his arms around her, giving her a comforting hug.

* * *

"Ronald?" Charlotte called. He was standing outside her door, waiting for her to finish getting dressed.

He peaked his head in the door way.

"You can come in now. I'm just zipping my dress up." She said.

She was dressed in a tight black dress. It was sleeved to the elbow and the length was just above her knees. It was the day of Stefan's funeral. Five days after his death.

Charlotte had been in her room the whole week, and had no idea what was in store for her.

"Charlie, dear? Are you ready?" Molly came in and asked. Charlotte was tying Ron's tie for him. Maroon, of course.

"Just about. Is Harry here?"

"Not yet. Draco is here. He's got to be there early but he wanted to see you before we leave."

Charlotte left the room, and headed to the kitchen to greet Draco.

He had a newspaper in his hand.

"Good morning beautiful." He half smiled. "Before you go, you need to know what you're in for."

She hugged him and then listened.

"The ministry knows who you are. It was mandatory to tell them. After the last battle, you regained your safety and the unbreakable vow was over. "_Until Lord Voldermort himself dies_." So I had to tell them everything."

"That's fine, of course. I just didn't think they'd ever have to know of my existence. But due to certain circumstances, it's quiet alright Draco. You would have been imprisoned for murder."

"That's not all. The word got out. You've been in papers and everyone wants a piece of you. They're so curious about you, and who you are. You're a new celebrity, the hidden "Black." And none of them have a picture of you, so they're will be a paparazzi."

"What? A bloody paparazzi?"

"And the fact Harry Potter is your close friend, it draws some attention. That's why he's meeting you there instead. Want me to go with you?"

"Yes please. I'll go tell Molly."

Draco and Charlotte took his flying car to the funeral home. He rarely used it, but Charlotte was in no state to use magic.

He parked, and walked around to the passenger seat and opened Charlotte's door. There was a big group of witches and wizards outside the front entrance. She got out of the car, and Draco grabbed her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"Don't let go, okay?" She asked. He nodded.

She didn't move when he tried to walk forward.

"Charlotte?"

"I can't go in there. It'll be the last time I'll ever see him...I can't..." She pulled herself together before she started crying.

"I can't do this. It doesn't feel real. If I see him, it'll be real." She looked at Draco.

His eyes were full of sorrow. "Charlie, sit back in the car. I have a letter for you."

She held her breath, and sat in the car.

"This was found in his jacket."

He handed her the letter.

_"My sweet Charlotte Lockyer,_

_It pains me that you are reading this due to unfortunate circumstances. But I've accepted my chosen path._

_I must apologize for the lack of enjoyment we've shared. I wish I could have showed you more. My darling, my best friend; I love you. I will always love you. I'm sorry we couldn't have a normal relationship. I wish I had the pleasure of calling you my wife, but I know you will make a perfect one someday. You deserve to find a man or a woman that will protect and love you in return and give you as many children as you please. You deserve someone who will laugh with you and someone who will act like a child with you. Someone to have fun with. I'm sorry we couldn't be that way. I'm sorry I have to leave you. I'm sorry I didn't protect you until the very end. But I'm not sorry for devoting my life to you. I don't regret it. Please don't make it be for nothing. Promise me you'll carry on, and be the Charlotte I know and love. I'm glad you have a new family to help you along the way. I'm grateful for them. I can rest in peace knowing they'll protect you. My beloved Charlie, this letter will take you mere minute to read, but know it took me hours to write. Saying goodbye to you is the hardest thing I've ever had to do. I love you. Visit me once in a while. _

_Stefan Williams"_

Charlotte pulled herself together. She read the letter a few more times and folded it and put it in her clutch. She looked in the mirror and fixed the running mascara and put on a serious face. She failed and the tears fell from her eyes uncontrollably. She wasn't crying loudly, or being loud, the tears were just falling and she was letting them. After a while, it was time to go in and she pulled herself together once more. She removed all of her make-up, and laughed to herself thinking '_Why would I wear make-up in the first place?'_

"Ready?" Draco asked her. She nodded and opened the door.

"Here they come."

A photographer spotted Draco and started debating whether or not to run over for a quick photo. When Charlotte stood from the car door and held Draco's hand, the photographer and a few others rushed to them.

"Are you Charlotte Black?" One hollered. "Pretty one she is!" Another one said. There were hundreds of flashes around them.

They ignored all questions and went into the building.

"Williams?" The man at the door asked. "The room to your right is the one you're looking for."

"Thanks." Draco said.

Charlotte stared at the door. "Alright."

The door opened and they walked inside. Everyone in the room was wearing black and faced the front of the room where the casket lay.

Viktor Krum stood in front of the casket, with his head down saying his last goodbyes. Everyone else sat in the benches awaiting the ceremony. When they started walking down the isle, everyone's head turned and had their eyes on Charlotte.

She kept looking forward, seeing his body get closer and closer with each step she made.

Draco placed his hand on her backside and they walked up together. At first, she didn't recognize him. "That's not him." She thought. But it was. The muscles in his face were simply relaxed. She touched his face lightly, and brushed his hair to the side. His hair was combed perfectly. Too perfectly. Charlotte messed it up a little to make it look more like him.

"I got your letter." She told him. "I love you too." She put her hand on his cold one, and just talked to him until it was time for her to speak her speech.


	10. The Unwritten Bond

"Granger." Draco nodded to her in greeting.

"Good morning Draco." She said in return.

It was still weird for him to hear her call him by his first name. He made himself some tea.

"It's really strange how comfortable you are here after all these years." She said.

"What? Making myself tea? How is that strange, Granger?"

"I don't know." She sighed. "It's just funny how things turned out."

Draco nodded and sipped his tea. "It was hard for me to get comfortable here. Not because I grew up in such a high class, but because of the way I treated everyone in the past. I'm just grateful to be welcome."

Hermione knew he meant what he said and everyone had forgiven him. He didn't have an easy life either. He was forced into the dark side at such a young age and was terrified. He had Charlotte for a while but once school started he could only write to her. Draco was forced to become a death eater and was given a task to murder someone, knowing he'd fail. He feared his death for most of his life.

"What's your problem?" Draco asked.

She gave him a confused, defensive look.

"No harm intended. You just seem tense. Does it have anything to do with Charlotte practically living here?"

"Yes and no. Not that you care." She said quietly.

"I'm not heartless Granger. Just because Charlotte is my little sister doesn't mean I don't understand where you're coming from. What exactly is bothering you?"

"I'm going to sound like an absolute fool but..." She paused, making sure she had the right words. "There's something missing in my relationship with Ron. I know you two will never get along so you'd never understand but I do care for him but something is missing. And I feel that Charlotte coming into the picture has put distance between us. But I don't want to sound selfish because she's family and needs us. And she needs Ron if this so-called "bond" exists." She bit her lip in thought.

"You should go find out if the bond exists if it bothers you that much. It's about time we figure it out, we've put it off too much." Draco suggested, sipping his tea. He walked over closer to where Hermione was standing. "Maybe Weasley just doesn't know how to show his feelings."

"What do you honestly suggest? I don't know why I'm asking you."

"I don't think you'd like what I have to say but maybe it's time for a change. You've been best friends since first year and now you're trying a romantic relationship out and it doesn't seem to be working."

He was right. She didn't like what he had to say. But she couldn't deny the thought hadn't crossed her mind. She looked down at her cup of tea and sniffled. Draco instantly felt guilty.

"Sorry." He said. He got closer and lifted her chin up. "Talk to him. I'm sure you're thinking too much."

"Ha-ha me? Thinking too much? Never." She joked. "But about the bond...How would I find out if it exists or not?"

"A trip to Ollivanders."

* * *

"Yes, Hermione. The bond I made between Ronald and Charlotte was on purpose, but I assure you there was a purpose."

"Being?"

"Charlotte came in when she was 11 years old, like every other witch or wizard. She had returned the same day and asked me for a different one."

"You gave her a different wand?"

"Of course not! Allow me to continue. She had come in for her wand. I placed many in her hand, but none had worked. I ended up trying a wand that I made specially across the world. Once in her hand and the light had shone without her casting a spell. It was her wand. She came in hours later requesting a new one. I had asked her why and she replied, "The wand causes me pain. It's broken." It wasn't broken, it was her disease."

"And where does Ron come into play?"

"Patience, Miss Granger." He waited for her mouth to close, then he continued. "I thought of a way to spare her magic, for I knew she would be a powerful witch. The solution wasn't a guarantee but I had to try. A bond, between two magical beings." Hermione stiffened. "I made a copy of the wand, with the permission of the Unicorn of course. Willow, 14 inches, and a Unicorn Tail Hair Core. With a secret essence of Crystallized Dragon Fire."

"Ron.."

"...Had come in for a new wand a week after the fact. I had to find a soul that was great and pure. Ron had broken his first wand, and needed a new one. He tried the wand, and the wand chose him. The wand had chosen him to save Charlotte's life one day."

Hermione took a moment to think about what Mr. Ollivander had revealed to her.

"And the bond?"

"The bond connects their magic. If she's weak, he can make her stronger. And there's a chance he'll be the reason she's cured. Now that they've found one another, Charlotte will grow stronger. Eventually she'll get used to him and may feel withdrawal when away for too long. She should eventually be able to use her magic more while being around him."

"How do you know so much about the bond?"

"I cannot say. Charlotte will find a way to her answers. If she doesn't, she may visit me and I can assist her but they wouldn't like that."

"They?" Ollivander didn't say anymore. He winked at her and his eyes twinkled much like Dumbledore's once did.

"Thank you for your time." Hermione left the wand shop in a hurry. Mr. Ollivander seemed to have more information but she didn't want to hear anymore.

She felt shaky, panicky, guilty; a hundred emotions at once. She ran to the nearest alley way and attempted to pull herself together. Her adrenaline rushed, and rushed. She tried to cry, but the tears wouldn't come.

_So now what? What happens if this bond bonds them in a way I can't stop?_

She felt a tap on her shoulder and it was Draco. He looked concerned.

"Are you alright? What did he say?" He asked her. He opened his mouth to say something else but Hermione had pressed her lips to his so quickly the words didn't come out. She kissed him, and he didn't pull away. He drew his hands up to her face and touched her skin softly. Butterflies built up in her body like she had never felt.

She pulled away and looked him in the eyes, then turned around and walked away. He stood there shocked, touching his lips. She walked away as fast as she could.

_What did I just do! I just kissed Malfoy! He was so soft and gentle... I've never been kissed like that. I wish I could do it again._

* * *

Charlotte had two places to stay at. Neither of them were "home" but both of them had warm beds and warm people that loved her. She officially moved into the Burrow temporarily to cope with Stefan's death and give Harry space. Harry had been dating Luna for a couple of weeks and he was still raising a toddler. Harry invited her over often but for the most part she stayed at the Burrow.

She finally had her clothes hung up in Ron's closest and had her own blankets she had brought over from Stefan's old apartment. She put most of the things from that apartment into storage.

She hadn't shown much emotion since Stefan's death. It had only been two weeks but everyone was surprised she held herself together so well. She hadn't shed a tear since his funeral. Her expression remained emotionless.

"Charlotte we need to talk." It was Draco.

"In private?" She asked.

Ron got up and left the room. "I'll give you privacy anyhow, I'm starved."

"What is it Draco?"

"Hermione and I went to Ollivanders to talk about the bond between you and Weasley and she came out really upset and well..."

"Well...What?"

"She kissed me."

"Really?" Her jaw dropped. She knew Draco found her attractive but she never expected something like that.

"The kiss was incredible, but the reasoning behind why troubles me. She was upset over you and Ron and kissed me because of it."

"Hmm. I wonder what it means."

"It doesn't mean anything, Charlotte. She was upset over Weasley."

"I don't know. You know the way you are? She wants that from Ronald. I think she's starting to realize he's not the right boy for her but she's in denial. Talk to her about the kiss."

Minutes later Ron came into the room. "Hermione has information on the bond to share with us. Come downstairs." He said.

The three of them walked downstairs and the room felt tense.

"So I went to see Ollivander today, and got the information we've been seeking on the bond between you and Ron." Hermione said.

"And is there one? By the tone of your voice I suspect there is." Charlotte said bluntly.

Hermione explained everything Ollivander told her to Ron and Charlotte.

By the end of it, Charlotte spoke up. "So, you have a problem with Ronald saving my magic and possibly my life?" She asked, appalled.

Hermione didn't answer.

"Excuse me? Did you hear me?" Charlotte asked again.

"Charlotte?" Harry said, alarmed.

She ignored Harry and Draco put a hand on his shoulder. "Don't get into it. It won't do you any good."

Charlotte stared at Hermione. "I heard you." She whispered.

"Then please, enlighten me as to why this bothers you so much."

Everyone stood in horror and shock. Ron didn't know what to do.

"You'd be bothered by this if you were in my shoes."

"No, I would be honored if my Stefan had the opportunity to save someones life. But he's dead."

Hermione looked down and teared up.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that." She started crying. "I just don't want to lose Ron over this.

Charlotte walked towards Hermione and she stiffened, prepared for a hit. But Charlotte hugged her tightly. "I don't want you to go through what I did. But open your eyes."

And as she said those words, Hermione looked at Draco and he looked away. She knew he had told Charlotte. And she knew she was torn and confused. Torn between feelings as old as time and feelings that were real.


	11. The Grimmauld Place

Authors note: Just keep in mind that it's been a month since Stefan died. It's now the beginning of December.

* * *

That night, Hermione and Ronald parted ways. It was emotional, but necessary. Hermione was confused and it was best to take a break from Ron to help her think straight. When they broke up, they both felt at ease. The world was no longer on their shoulders. They even ended up laughing together and things would slowly get back to normal.

"That was quiet a battle." Ron sighed.

"Yes but maybe we're meant to stay a trio after all." Hermione attempted a smile. "Just so you know, I do love you. It's just been so long. Everything has changed."

"Who knows? If we're meant to be together, it'll happen."

"I'm glad we could be mature about this, Ron. I think I'm going to go home tomorrow, to my parents. We need to spend time apart to get over this whole thing." Hermione softly said.

"I understand. Goodnight, Hermione." Ron finished, walking upstairs to his bedroom.

When he got there, Charlotte was pulling a shirt over her head. Ron's shirt to be exact. Ron smiled at that.

"You fancy my clothing, don't you?" He managed to say tiredly.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. Molly made this? I think that's why I love it the most. Home made." She smiled, getting under the thick blankets of Harry's bed.

"Care to elaborate?" Ron was glad Charlotte seemed to be in a talkative mood. She hadn't spoken much over the past month. Stefan's death took a toll on her, she stayed silent. Something that surprised him though, was that Charlotte never cried. After the funeral, no one saw her cry again. That worried everyone, but they didn't talk about it out loud.

"Well, I grew up in the Manor with Draco. Lucius and Narissa were very loving parents but it was only Draco and I. It's so warm and inviting here, 7 children. I want a big family one day. I wish I could." She frowned.

At first Ron thought she meant Stefan, but then he realized it ran deeper.

"Why can't you?"

"I don't know enough about the disease I'm cursed with. What if the child inherited this horrid problem?" She spat. Her face suddenly lost emotion. She seemed to be really troubled by the possibility of not having children.

"If there's anyone that can help, it'd be Hermione. You two are the smartest people I know, I'm sure you could find answers." He half smiled. "Charlotte, what do you mean they were loving parents? Your mother was with you, wasn't she?"

She sighed. "Draco wasn't honest when he told the story of our childhood last month. I wasn't ready to let everyone know about Lillian. Narissa and Lillian were acquaintances because of Voldermort. They were young beautiful women tied into the dark lord. Narissa is a strong held woman who stands by her husband. She's a lot stronger than she seems. Lillian on the other hand, is weak and selfish. When I was born, Voldermort was deceased. All the death eaters were in hiding, so it was easy for Lillian to hide me from the world, we lived in the Manor in France. When I had my first magical experience it ended badly and we discovered someone was wrong. She didn't want me any longer."

Ron sensed her anger now. She sounded so fond of Narissa when she spoke of her. He didn't understand it at first.

Charlotte continued. "She decided to give me up at the age of 6. Could you imagine raising a child for 6 years and give it up willingly? It's disgusting. I had met Narissa a few times before briefly. She checked in to make sure I was well. She forced Lillian to tell her who the father was, and it turned out it was her own cousin. She was worried if Voldermort found out, things would be even worse. Well, Narissa was in the Ministry the day Lillian was going to sign adoption papers and have me taken to a wizarding orphanage. She looked as beautiful as ever, but she looked worried. Lillian and Narissa had a heated conversation and when they were done Lillian walked away, leaving me there. She didn't even look at me, or say goodbye. Narissa bent down to my level and introduced herself properly. I took her hand and went with her to the manor that day."

"Narissa is technically you're aunt or cousin, right?" Ron asked. Charlotte nodded. "I couldn't imagine giving my child up. I'm sorry you had to go through that, but it looks like you were surprisingly raised well and you're happier with the Malfoys. Why are you so nice if you're a Malfoy at heart?" Ron teased.

"I was raised a lot differently than Draco. Narissa took me in for more than one reason. When Draco was born, Voldermort began planning great things for him to do. Narissa wanted nothing of it. She thought by taking me in and keeping me secret, I could keep him out of the dark completely. I was brought in to save him in a way. But he is his fathers son, thus the rivalry."

Ron nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Draco really is a different person than you know him to be. I was raised with him. He's a gentle and loving person deep down. We just have an image to uphold."

"He's a git, but I can't deny he seems to care a great deal about you."

Charlotte smiled for a moment then frowned again. "I'm so restless. I wish I could go for a run to work this energy off. Bloody winter. Running in winter apparel isn't favorable."

"How are you not tired?" Ron asked, yawning. He sat up to look at her better. She was rather cute without any make up on, hair in a messy bun at the top of her head.

"The symptoms of my disease keep me awake. I have mild insomnia because my adrenaline is always rushing high. Durmstrang did me well because they had physical training classes and I got a lot of my energy out during the day. Eventually it tires me out and I get really weak. Crashing is dreadful."

"Is there anyway to stop that?"

"We're not sure yet. I know using magic tires me out, but it harms me so I never resort to that. I just keep busy."

"What about the bond between us?"

"Well, we have a lot to talk about with the bond. We have so much to find out still. But I do know that when we make contact my body calms down a little. It's like our magic connects and it eases my body. At first I get light headed when I'm around you because I'm not used to the pressure, but then it relaxes and I feel great." Charlotte answered.

Ron pondered this for a moment. He wished he knew more about the bond. He wanted to talk to Ollivander and find out anything more that he could. He was pleased he helped Charlotte, it felt good to be needed.

"So because we share the same wand, our magic is connected? Can't I help you sleep?"

"There's a lot to discover, but more or less. You do help me sleep better, by sharing a room. Right now, only our wands are supposed to be bonded I think. But because I can perform wandless magic I think our magic is starting to connect the more we do."

Connect? What does she mean? Connect as humans, or maybe connect as a relationship?

"Do you think if we were beside each other you'd sleep better?"

Charlotte just stared at him.

"I'm not asking you to share a bed. I'm offered to push our beds closer for the night, if it'll help you sleep."

She nodded and Ron swore her face was tinted pink but she turned away, clearing the floor. He casted a silencing charm around the room so Molly didn't hear what was going on. She would have a fit at this hour.

Together, they pushed Charlotte's bed closer to his. They stopped with a few feet apart.

"I'm glad you told me that story." Ron randomly said. Charlotte made eye contact with him. "It helps me know who you are." He brushed it off with a shrug.

She smiled and made her way to bed. "I love this sweater because it was made by your own mother, and you have a life I want to have one day. It also smells good."

"I hate the color maroon." Ron told her. "My mum insists it looks good on me so she refuses to knit me any other color."

Charlotte laughs. "Goodnight, Ronald."

* * *

Hermione lay awake thinking that night. She couldn't talk to Ginny about the situation because she was already fast asleep and everything was so fresh it was too soon to tell anything.

Hermione started to pack her things into her bags. She was going to her parents tomorrow morning. She had already written them letting them know. They couldn't wait to have her back home.

She thought about her past with Ron and how serious she thought they were. In the end, they were just two best friends. Charlotte hadn't ruined anything, Hermione was now sure it would have happened this way anyway. They were always going to be the way they were, nothing would change that. They will have separate families, and they'll still bicker all the time. It's the way they are and Hermione wouldn't have it any other way. Now that Draco was involved somehow, she hoped things wouldn't be tense. Although Charlotte seemed to bring them together.

She was scared to think of anything other than Ron. It was all she knew, but the thought of Draco intrigued her. She pictured nothing good of him, he was a Malfoy. She thought his heart was cold. She thought his lips would be cold and rough, but she was wrong. His lips were warm and soft. The thought of being with him made her curious. No one would suspect them together and the thought of shocking everyone made her want it all the more.

She was getting ahead of herself. She remembered school and all of the times he called her a mudblood, or tormented her and her friends. He was probably just messing with her. But then again, he doesn't seem to be the person she thought. They had never given him a chance.

Hermione had never been single. Technically she was always single, but her heart was claimed by Ron since they were children. She decided she wouldn't get her hopes up about Draco and just enjoy being alone. She had a lot of potential in the work force and she knew it. She'd make herself happy first and not let a man in until she was ready.

* * *

In the morning, Ronald woke up first. He looked over at Charlotte whom was facing him still asleep. Charlotte was so close to the edge of the bed, Ron was surprised she hadn't fallen in her sleep. He got out of bed and pulled on a tshirt.

Charlotte was awake now, and blushed a little before getting out of bed herself. "Morning. We should probably get the beds apart before your mother comes upstairs." She said and Ron agreed.

Charlotte went downstairs first and her nostrils were filled with the scent of breakfast.

"Oh, Harry. Good morning." Charlotte greeted. "Here for some breakfast?"

"Morning. Yes, I am. How did you sleep?" Harry smiled.

"I feel wonderful actually. I'm thinking about going for a jog if the snow isn't too deep."

"Have fun. No one here would fancy a run this early in the morning." Harry said. "But I'm here on business, you see."

Hermione walked into the kitchen cutting Harry off, fully dressed with her bags. "Morning everyone. I'm sorry Molly, but I will be missing breakfast this morning. I'm off to meet with my parents."

"Oh how nice dear. Dress warm! It's very chilly outside." Molly demanded.

"Hermione?" Charlotte called. "I need to borrow your brains for a couple hours sometime."

"Of course. Write me? We can get together later on tonight." Hermione smiled then left.

"Now Harry. What business were you referring to?" Charlotte asked.

Another interruption. Only this time it was Ron.

"Just the man I was looking for." Harry smiled widely. "I've got something to ask the two of you."

Ron froze and looked at Charlotte then back to Harry. "What do you mean?" Was Harry Ratting them out?

Molly had went to the pantry to get more bread for breakfast.

"Harry, what is it? If this is about our sleeping arrangement last night; explanations can be made mate." Ron gestured to Charlotte.

"Sleeping arrangement? Do tell." Harry grinned, eyebrows raised. "Seriously though? I just have a suggestion I'd like to run by the two of you." When he didn't get an answer, he continued. "How would you feel about moving out of the Burrow? I know Charlotte doesn't want to be a burden here any longer and is finding a place to live. And I'm sure you're ready to leave the nest, Ron."

"We're listening."

"I'm fixing up the Grimmauld place. There's plenty of room. I was going to offer Charlotte a room there. She's a Black after all, it's her home too. I've been baby proofing it for Teddy. And I know you've been itching to move out, and you should be around Charlotte until we figure the bond out."

"I'm in. I wouldn't mind moving there." Ron grinned.

"Charlotte?"

"I have conditions."

"Which would be?" Harry asked.

"We can discuss them when we're there. Let's go after breakfast." She smiled.

Charlotte stood at the foot of the Grimmauld place with Harry. She took a deep breath and walked through the front gate.

She had never met her father, but she felt closer to him being there already. She knew Harry felt the same way about Sirius. He had barely got to know him before he died. Harry looked over at Charlotte and saw how serious her face was. He took her hand and saw her relax. She smiled softly at his gesture and they stepped inside the home.

The place was dusty and ancient. Charlotte admired the decor, especially the large chandelier that greets them as they walk in. It was very dark, with old fashioned furniture. The wall paper was peeling off and was possibly once an attractive pattern.

"This place would be wonderful with a little bit of light." Charlotte said.

The portrait that was in the door way let out a great loud scream that hurt their ears. Harry cussed and made his way down some stairs that led to the kitchen.

"I'll get us some tea. The kitchen is down here. That lady in the portrait was Walburga Black. She's dreadful." Harry sighed, leaving Charlotte in the hallway.

Charlotte turned on the lights in the hall and lifted the black material that covered the screaming portrait.

"Hello, Mrs. Black."

"Are you a filthy half-blood like the disgusting owner of my home? FILTHY BLOOD, FILTHY!" Walburga screamed again.

"Actually, I'm a pure-blood. You're grand daughter to be exact. Pleased to meet you. Although, I don't see how Harry is disgusting. He's the savior of all wizards, without him all wizards of all blood would be dead."

"Speak your name. You are no grand daughter of mine. The family tree would have changed. Filthy liar." Walburga had her eyes on the wall, ignoring Charlotte the whole time.

"My name is Charlotte Black. Daughter of Sirius Black and Lillian Lockyer. Unknown to the wizarding world until weeks ago." Charlotte's attention was now on the family tree.

Walburga's eyes widened and focused in on Charlotte. She looked as if she was going to explode. Charlotte had the light brown eyes of Sirius, but the eye shape of Lillian. Her hair was a strikingly black that matched her fathers as well. Walburga noticed this. She pointed to the stairs and disappeared into her portrait.

Charlotte listened and headed up the stairs to a drawing room that was open, and Walburga appeared in another portrait in the room.

"What's going on?" Harry entered now. "You can move portraits?" Harry looked stunned.

"Filthy filthy. DO NOT ADDRESS ME!" She screamed. "I move where I please." Nose pointed in the air in a snobby manor.

"Now, Mrs. Black, I told you. Harry is not disgusting. He is one of the most powerful wizards in the world. Voldermort was a half-blood."

Walburga looked as though she was going to explode again, but relaxed.

"See, here is the family tree. No face under Sirius Black. Filthy liar."

Charlotte turned her attention to the family tree. There wasn't a face under Sirius's name. She stared at all the family members on the family tree. She reached up and touched her fathers name and sighed. As she touched the magically canvas, ink began to appear. A red line went down from Sirius's name and began to form a face. Her face. And then her name. "Charlotte Lucius Black."

Charlotte was speechless. She just stared at her name on the family tree.

"Filthy liar, you say?" Harry teased Walburga darkly.

"Charlotte Lucius Black." Walburga repeated. "Your middle name is Lucius. Explain."

"I was raised by Lucius and Narissa Malfoy."

"The Malfoys raised you? How lovely. You seem to be more of a Black by the minute." Walburga then disappeared to her original portrait and didn't speak another word.

"That was strange. That wretched woman has never spoken to anyone nicely before."

Charlotte still remained silent. She smiled at Harry though. "Maybe she'll stop screaming all the time."

"Come on, I'll give you a tour. This is the drawing room, as I'm sure you've guessed. The room across from here is where Hermione and Ginny slept when we were here."

"Hello?" They heard. "Harry? Charlotte?" Ron called.

"We're up here." Harry called back. Ron reached them. "I'm just giving Charlotte a tour of the place."

Ron nodded and made his way to the kitchen. "I'm starved."

"We just had breakfast, Ron." Harry shook his head.

While Ron made sandwiches for lunch, Charlotte and Harry continued their tour of the Grimmauld place.

"This will be my bedroom." Harry said. They were now on the second floor. "It was the room I shared with Ron when we were here. It's a bit bigger than the other bedroom, but I will be sharing with Teddy until he's a bit older."

Charlotte nodded and headed further upstairs. There were three rooms on the third floor. Two were used as bedrooms and the other for storage. And on the top floor was Sirius's bedroom.

She looked at the plaque that read "Sirius" and slowly turned the door knob and pushed it open. She didn't walk in though, she just looked around the room.

"I always meant to clean this room out. But in the end I decided to leave it the way it is." Harry made her jump.

"I didn't notice you follow me." She breathed.

"Some of the things in here have a permanent sticking charm. So why bother taking some of it out, when you can't take all?" Harry joked.

"I'll leave you alone for a while. I'm going to help Ron make lunch." Harry gave her shoulder a squeeze.

"Oh! Hello Hermione. I was going to write you after dinner." Charlotte was surprised to see Hermione in the kitchen when she was done looking around.

Hermione smiled. "Molly told me you three were here. Why are you all here anyway?"

"This will be my new home this week." Harry replied. "I have a feeling you're not here for lunch, though. What brought you here? I thought you were visiting your parents."

"We had breakfast and I had an idea. I was trying to figure out what Charlotte would need, and it was obvious it was about the bond."

Charlotte nodded to let Hermione know she was correct. She noticed Harry failed to mention that Ron and Charlotte were moving in as well, but she sensed Harry didn't want to cause any more tension than needed.

"I thought, what better place to look for information then Hogwarts."

"Hogwarts?" They were all confused.

"Dumbledore has the best collection of books the headmasters office. And I'm sure he looked into Charlotte's disease because you two met before. I'll go write Professor Mcgonnagall and let her know we're coming."

Hermione headed to the living room and began writing their old Transfiguration professor.

"So. What are your conditions Charlotte?" Harry asked her.

"I wrote a list of rules down. I'd like there to be boundaries. You can add, debate or change anything you wish."

_1. No one else moves in without a group discussion._

_2. We all share the cooking and cleaning._

_3. Draco is allowed over when he pleases to help me (Charlie)_

"Malfoy is allowed over whenever?" Ron whined.

"Ronald, I thought we got passed this!" Charlotte groaned.

"Fine, deal. But if he's a git I'm allowed to throw him out."

"Deal. Did I miss anything?"

"No one sleeps over without letting the others know?" Ron suggested. The other two agreed.

"And no parties. We can have get togethers, dinners, but no house parties. We have a toddler here after all. Unless it's a special occasion family party." Harry added.

Hermione returned and they waited. She was worried that it'd be awkward for her to be there with Ron but it was back to normal. Ron was his shy self around her, for a different reason now of course.

"So what exactly did you want my help with?"

"The bond mainly. I'd like to know if anyone else has my disease and if there is a cure."

There was a knock at the front door. Harry got up to answer it.

As he opened the door he was greeted with the similar blond man, Draco. When he stepped in the doorway Harry's eyes found Luna's. The short blonde haired girl smiled brightly at him. "Hello Harry. Charlotte told us to come over after lunch time." She kissed him on the cheek and walked inside as well, following Draco into the kitchen.

"So, where are we going?" Draco asked Hermione with a smirk, leaning against the door frame.


	12. The Island

"You remember the Great Hall."

"I remember when I stepped in here for the first time, I vowed we would have a ceiling like this." Charlotte laughed and held Draco's arm tightly.

"It made the ballroom so much more appealing." Draco added.

The two of them stood in the doorway lost in memories. "The dance here was just _so_ much fun." Charlotte lied. "That night went from wonderful to horrible very quickly." She was referring to the Yule Ball. While most of Durmstrang was in Hogwarts for the Triwizard Tournament, Charlotte stayed back with the students that chose not to go. She wasn't allowed to go to Hogwarts, it would have potentially blown her cover. But, she attended the Yule Ball.

As children, Charlotte and Draco wrote each other daily when school started. Being separated for months at a time was something neither of them enjoyed. They took advantage of the year Durmstrang went to Hogwarts, though. Since Charlotte wasn't allowed to go, Draco went to Durmstrang twice a month to visit her and the Yule Ball was something Charlotte didn't want to miss so Lucius pulled a few strings and she went.

"You saved me from having to take Pansy to the Ball. Merlin, she looked like she was going to murder you." Draco said. "It's a small world. Who would ever guess things would be this way now." That night was an emotional rollarcoaster for the lot of them. Charlotte surprised Viktor by showing up at the Yule Ball, only to find him with another date. Hermione Granger. But Draco had swept her off her feet and returned the sting. Viktor didn't know they were siblings because she was known as a Lockyer to the students of Durmstrang. So he watched how graceful Charlotte and Draco danced together. They had years of practice due to owning their own ballroom and having Narissa as a mother.

"Draco! When Harry introduced me to the Weasley family, I noticed Ronald and just couldn't help but stare but I couldn't figure out why. At the Yule Ball I remember bumping into him on my way out and my adrenaline pumped so hard. We just stared at each other. I wonder if he remembers. He probably doesn't because I'm the one that the bond effects. I also remember afterwards." She trailed off. Hermione and Viktor had stopped before them. Viktor bid her goodnight and walked with Charlotte back to the ship. She heard yelling from a crying Hermione but kept walking.

Draco merely nodded in response with an attempted smile. He was in a different place now. He hadn't been in Hogwarts since the war. Hogwarts was supposed to be the safest place for a wizard, but that night they were all deceased. There were rows of dead bodies of people he knew and those images haunted him.

"It must be nice being back." Charlotte was looking at him. "Those two years were so difficult for all of us. The Malfoy name is better than it ever was. You're a free man." She gave his arm a squeeze. She wished she had been there for Draco during the war. She was hidden and had no choice.

"Hey, Charlie look." Draco pointed to two students that were walking around. Most of the students were gone to Hogsmeade but the younger students stayed behind. "That's a Gryffindor with a Slytherin. The houses are much more connected now." He smiled to himself.

"So I heard the Weasel and Hermione broke up." Draco stated, but it was more of a question.

"I heard the same."

"Does Hermione know you two are moving in with Harry?" He asked.

"Draco. I'm moving in with Harry, and Ron is as well. _We_ aren't moving in together." Charlotte sighed

"Sure sure. So how are you holding up? You seem more alive today."

"I miss him Draco, Merlin I do. But that chapter of my life is over and I've accepted it. I'm feeling more alive." Charlotte answered.

They started to walk to Mcgonnagalls office now. Hermione, Harry and Ron were all there already. They were close with Minerva during their years at Hogwarts so they had tea with her before they began to research. Draco was never that close with her so he decided to take a stroll with Charlotte. She had always admired the school so she agreed.

Before Draco said the password, he turned to Charlotte and put his arms around her. "I really hope we find something, Charlie. Last year was too hard on all of us. You especially."

Charlotte nodded. She knew what he was talking about.

As the steps elevated, she could hear the voices of her friends upstairs. The four friends were sitting around the desk chatting away until Charlotte and Draco entered.

"Ready?" Hermione smiled. She caught eyes with Draco for a moment and looked away. Charlotte headed over to the desk and noticed Harry was holding a big trunk.

"What's with the chest?"

"Dumbledores letters and documents." He put the trunk down and Charlotte sat in front of it with Hermione. They both sighed and opened it to see what they were in for.

For hours they looked through paper after paper, reading through books that could possibly help. They didn't know what they were looking for.

"Did Draco go down to the library with Harry and Ron?" Hermione asked.

"Yes, why do you ask?"

"It's just odd. We've all grown up so much. We were practically enemies growing up." Hermione said.

"Draco wasn't that boy, you know? He tried so hard to act like father, but he couldn't fool me. He wrote about all of you in his letters sometimes." Charlotte informed her.

"I'm slowly starting to know who he is, and I like him much better than I did in school. He really was horrid to me. Calling me..."

"A child can be easily corrupted, Hermione. We were all taught wrong."

"What did he say in the letters?" Hermione was afraid to ask.

"He'll murder me for telling you. But he spoke highly of you and Harry. Before first year, Harry Potter was all he bloody talked about. He was jealous of Ronald, so he didn't like him much. He's also a Weasley and there has been a Weasley/Malfoy dislike for decades."

"What about me?" Hermione dared.

"He often would tell me how much of a know-it-all you were, but he couldn't hide his interest from me. I could just tell by his words that he admired you." That was all Charlotte would say.

Hermione distracted herself by taking out another pile of papers. Dinner was slowly approaching and night had fallen already.

Charlotte found the letters that she had written to Dumbledore before he died. She went through them all, reading them over again. She was so intrigued by him. She looked at the back of the letter and noticed a small envelope attached to a letter and it was unopened.

"Look at this. It hasn't been opened yet." She passed the letter to Hermione, who checked it for any curses and opened the letter.

"_Albus, I have taken what you've said into consideration. It does look like MD. But we do not trust easily. If she proves herself worthy, we will give information openly. Sincerely, Cherie Fanshawe of the Island."_

Hermione handed the letter to Charlotte with her brows furrowed and her face confused. "Charlotte, I think we've found something very important."

"MD? There could be others?" Charlotte's mind was buzzing with questions and thoughts.

"You should write back to her." Hermione suggested sternly. She pointed some parchment paper and a quill to her and kept looking in the trunk for more letters.

Charlotte read the letter over and over. _MD. Trust. Proves herself worthy. Of the Island. Are there others with this condition? Is this it? How on earth am I to prove myself? Will Cherie Fanshawe disregard my letter?_

Charlotte groaned and began writing. She started the letter multiple times before she actually found the right words to say.

_"To whomever this concerns, it would seem that Albus Dumbledore had written to this address before his death. Do not be alarmed, I am the person the letter regarded. It has come to my attention that you have the information I've been seeking all my life. It would be appreciated if you would contact me as soon as possible. -Charlotte L. Black."_

She finished the letter and left it on the windowsill. She looked outside and the sky was a brilliant navy blue. It wasn't snowing so the sky was perfectly clear. She faced Hermione and watched her looking through more letters. Her hair had toned down a little since school and hung over her shoulders lightly. Her hair was no longer a big bush. Charlotte had light golden brown eyes, whereas Hermione had chocolate brown eyes, with a hint of auburn. Her eyes alone made her understand why Draco fancied Hermione. Charlotte watched her expression and wondered what she was thinking. She understood why Ron had fancied her as well. She walked over to Hermione and sat down beside her.

"Hermione, we've done enough for today." She put her hand on top of Hermione's and made a strong eye contact. "Thank you for helping me." She smiled.

Hermione blushed for a reason she didn't understand and nodded. As they put the papers back in the chest they remained silent. Hermione was lost in thought yet again, but for a different reason now. _She's so intriguing. Why was she looking at me that way? Stop. Stop thinking._

"Are you alright?" Charlotte asked in concern.

"Oh, yes of course." Hermione said, looking down. "What do you want to find out about the most? With your condition."

"If I can have children without passing this down. I want a house full of children. I'd also like to be reassured this can be cured. I want to live a long life."

Hermione nodded at this answer. Not being able to have children would be devastating to any woman. Hermione hasn't even thought about having children and here Charlotte is, a year younger and already worried she'll never be a mother.

"Hermione. I don't know where to send this letter. A regular owl wouldn't know where to go, what owl did Albus use?"

"That would be Fawkes." Harry said. The three boys entered the room "Dumbledore had a phoenix but no one has seen him since Dumbledore died. He floats around in the sky."

"Have you found anything?" Draco asked.

"A letter. Here." Hermione passed it to him. "Which leads us to our next problem. Finding Fawkes."

After Draco read the letter out loud Hermione spoke up again. "For now, this is all we can find. We need to know more about this Island. Did you three find anything?"

Harry coughed. "We -uh- looked for about an hour and found some possibly helpful books. We took them home with us so we can read them later."

"Didn't feel like reading?" Hermione teased. "You're lucky we found something ourselves. What did you do for the other three hours?"

"We were at the Burrow." Ron started but didn't continue. He chickened out.

"We were telling Molly the news. She got a little emotional." Harry helped and finished for him.

"What news?" Hermione questioned.

No one spoke right away. Charlotte felt extremely guilty now; she had been with Hermione for four hours and didn't tell her anything. Harry and Ron were hesitant to tell her, and Charlotte slowly realized it was a bigger deal than she suspected.

"Harry and Teddy are moving into the Grimmauld place." Draco said. "He's decided it's time to take over the home he was given."

"Congratulations Harry! Hopefully you fix the place up before that, though." Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Of course, I've already started. There's more than just that. I've invited Charlotte to live with me as well. She's a Black and I know how much she hates feeling like a burden on the Weasleys." Harry explained.

"Doesn't she live at the Burrow so she can be close to Ron?" Hermione asked. "Won't that effect her from being away from him?"

"I'm...I'm moving in with them too." Ron couldn't bare it any longer. His eyes fell to the floor.

"I see. Well, in that case you're going to need a LOT of help getting everything in order. I'd be glad to help." Hermione smiled to let them know she really wasn't upset. Of course it stung at first impact, she felt as though she was getting replaced by a new woman. The trio was no longer a trio? Hermione pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind. Harry and Ron would always be her best friends. Harry more so than Ron, but they'd always be the same.

"We should actually finish cleaning this mess up, Kreacher should have dinner finished by now. I wanted to spend our first night there tonight, even though it'll take weeks to finish. We went to my apartment and got my blankets, sheets and a backpack full of clothes and such. As well as everything Charlotte, Ron and Teddy will need. Kreacher has everything prepared for us."

"Really? That's brilliant. Speaking of dinner, I sort of invited two guests to dinner..." Charlotte nervously said.

* * *

When Harry entered the dining room his heart warmed quickly. Luna was opening a bottle of wine and having a conversation with Kreacher as he finished preparing dinner. He walked over to her and greeted her with a soft kiss. He felt so lucky to have her. He had never pictured them together during their years at school, but she's grown into such a beautiful woman. She was the same height as she was in school though, which Harry found cute.

"Hello, Luna." Charlotte smiled and embraced her with a hug. When she was free, Luna passed Charlotte a glass of red wine. Charlotte was skeptical but took it with a smile. "I've missed you."

"Charlie!" Teddy screamed and clapped his hands. He was sitting on the counter with his hands in the air.

"Well hello to you too Teddy!" She lifted him up from from the counter and planted a big kiss on his cheek.

Hermione watched the way Charlotte acted around Luna.

"What are you thinking?" Draco whispered in her ear. The two of them sat at the kitchen table beside each other.

"I'm just curious about Charlotte. Watch her speak to Luna. She's like that with me too." Hermione said slowly. She wasn't sure if she should be saying anything because she knew he would tell Charlotte after, but she had to know.

"Ah, you see, Charlie can't help herself with attractive women."

"You mean..."

"Charlotte has an attraction for women also, yes. She's close with Luna the way she's close with me. You on the other hand..." Hermione hit Draco in a playful manor. "Shut it, Draco."

The door bell rang and Charlotte handed Luna Teddy, then bolted to the door with Draco following behind. Ron took his seat across from Hermione and Harry helped Luna set the table and put wine in each glass.

Ron looked behind him through the dining room door and saw Narissa and Lucius Malfoy in the doorway. Instantly, he had a nasty feeling in the pit of his stomach. Although, when he saw Lucius wrap his arms around Charlotte and present her with a kiss to the forehead, his feeling softened. He could see Lucius mouth the words 'I missed you.' Ron had expected Narissa to fawn over her, but in fact it was Lucius. He had an extreme soft spot in his heart for his daughter.

He felt the need to greet them so he got up from his seat and met with them in the hallway before they entered. He started to blush a bit at this. He wasn't in a _relationship _with Charlotte, but even so he felt he should prove himself a gentlemen.

"Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy." He reached his hand out for a handshake. Something he never would have done in the past. Narissa had saved his best friends life, for that alone he had respect for her. It'd take him time to get used to the idea of them being around. He was nervous they would reject his greeting but right away he received two handshakes in return.

"I haven't been here since I was a little girl. I had no idea this place was even used. It's so obvious now." Narissa laughed darkly. Her strikingly black hair could fool anyone into thinking Charlotte was her biological daughter.

The door bell rang again, but Charlotte and Draco had no idea who it was. Ron took the initiative to answer the door this time.

He was shocked to see his own parents on the other side of the door. "Mum? Dad? What are you doing here?"

"Is that anyway to greet your mother Ronald Weasley?" Molly and Arthur let themselves into the now crowded hallway.

The Malfoy's stood there in silence. They seemed...nervous?

"Ah, Lucius. Narissa." Arthur greeted, unsure of what to do.

"It's been quiet a long time, Arthur indeed. Shall we join the others in the dining room and talk business?" Lucius offered.

"Gladly!" Arthur hung his coat on the rack and followed them.

"So far so good." Charlotte whispered to Draco. He put his arm behind her back and walked with her to the dining room.

"Whom is this handsome boy?" Narissa looked down and noticed Teddy. She realized who she was as she was asking. The blue hair was hard to miss.

"That would be Teddy, my Godson." Harry answered her. "Good to see you, Narissa. Teddy, this is your Aunt Narissa." He introduced.

Narissa was nervous. She had wanted to meet Teddy but she wasn't aware he would be here. When Charlotte first met Harry and the family, she had told her mother she met Teddy and ever since Narissa has been itching to meet him. It was a touchy subject but after the war, they were all free. Their opinions were no longer nasty and controlled.

She bent down to his level. "You may call me Aunt Cissy if you'd like." Teddy looked at her for a moment as if he were judging her, then excitedly accepted her.

The sight was strange to everyone, being all together, but they exchanged positive vibes. Arthur and Molly sat at one end of the table, across from Lucius and Narissa. Charlotte sat beside Narissa, and Luna sat beside Charlotte. Luna sat at the end so she could also be beside Harry. He had to sit at the end of the table so Teddy's high chair could fit in between them. Ron sat beside his mother, with Draco and Hermione beside him. Hermione was pleased to sit beside Draco, but she was glad to have Harry beside her as well so she wasn't stuck in an awkward conversation. Draco had a way of getting to her.

"Thank you so much for inviting us, Harry. Always such a dear." Molly said.

Harry hadn't told anyone he invited them for dinner and it definitely made things more interesting. By now, everyone had their plates full of food. There was many options, Kreacher had out done himself. There was a dish of chicken, and a dish of salmon so they had the option and there were bowls filled with at least 5 different vegetables. Teddy dug in immediately, using his fingers instead of his fork.

"Wine, Mr. Malfoy?" Harry had a chilled bottle and poured everyone a glass.

"Lucius, Harry. Lucius. Yes thank you." He took a taste and seemed pleased. He looked at Charlotte and noticed her glass was full. He gave her a warning look, and Ron had noticed.

"Harry, Ronald. Do you two gentlemen have careers in mind?" Narissa asked them.

"Actually, I'm a full time father right now. As you can see, he's a handful." Harry happily informed her. "But I plan on going to Quidditch Academy when Teddy is older."

"Quidditch Academy? We all suspected you would become an Auror." Draco teased.

"I never enjoyed having to play hero. I did enjoy beating you in Quidditch every year, though." Harry teased back. It was still hard to believe this was Draco at his dinner table.

"Ron has just been accepted to Auror training." Arthur beamed.

"Really? You never told us." Harry said, shocked.

"I hadn't told anyone yet." Ron said. He looked embarrassed. Everyone congratulated him.

"Draco has been accepted as well. You'll probably be placed in the same class." Narissa told them.

They all finished their meals and Harry and Luna took their plates away as Kreacher put a dessert in front of them.

"So Charlotte, what are your career plans?" Luna asked.

"Oh, I don't have any. Maybe I'll be a writer or something." With that, she got out of her seat while everyone was lost in conversation and slipped out of the dining room. She put her winter boots and coat on.

She hadn't realized, but Ron followed her until he spoke. "It's cold out. Here." He put her hat on top of her head.

"I just need some air." She whispered.

"Let me join you." He said.

He followed her to a park bench across the street and joined her.

"Congratulations on Auror training." She smiled. "That must be exciting."

"What do you really want to be?" He asked. They sat on the bench, looking up at the snow as it fell passed them.

"Something that is too magical for me to handle." Charlotte answered finally. "I secretly want to become a Curse Breaker."

"My brother Bill is a Curse Breaker. He was in Egypt for a while but after he got married he just travels."

"Yes, I know. At Harry's birthday dinner we had a conversation about it."

"Your father seems very protective of you." Ron stated, referring to the wine.

"You caught that did you? I've given him too many reasons to be protective." Charlotte sighed. "Let's get back before they come looking."

When they got up and turned around, a beautiful creature sat on the fence of number 12 Grimmauld place.

"Fawkes!" Ron exclaimed. Harry popped his head out the front door wondering where they were and stopped in his tracks. He yelled in the house to get everyones attention.

"Fawkes." Harry repeated. "He must have known we needed him."

Charlotte pulled the letter out of her pocket and walked towards the beautiful bird. "Hello, Fawkes. I'm Charlotte, can you bring this letter to the Island for me?"

The phoenix took the letter in his claws and looked back at Harry before he flapped his wings gracefully and was off into the night. He disappeared quickly.

"That was brilliant." Charlotte breathed.


	13. A 50 Day Proposal

"Quit shouting! Read the letter to me again." Hermione demanded. It was past midnight now and everyone was tense and frustrated. A letter in reply had been delivered by Fawkes only four hours after he took Charlotte's.

"_Miss Charlotte Black, I say one thing and one thing only; if you are a traveler this will be your greatest journey yet. A wizard cannot reach this destination and when you reach it, wizards are all you will find. Beware, for Griffins and Sphinxes guard our world. If you are worthy, you will be granted. No more than six people will be accepted. We hope to meet you if you are who you say you are."_

"How do we know this woman isn't like the Greeley brothers? What if she's working for him? It's not your daughter on the line." Lucius said loudly, holding Charlotte.

"We know exactly where you're coming from, Lucius. And don't think we don't. Three of ours went off in search of horcruxes and almost died numerous times if you recall. We have her best interests at heart. We've learned to trust them, even though they're young." Arthur said in return. He paused and looked at Molly and held her hand. They were thinking of their dearest Fred. It had only been three years since they had lost him and it was a wound that would never heal completely.

Draco stepped up and took initiative. Something he was never able to do due to fear, but now he was fighting for something that mattered to him. "I killed one of the brothers, father and I'll do it again if I have to. Five people are allowed to join her. We all know which four that will be. This argument is soon to be pointless."

Everyone sighed, retreated and formed separate conversations amongst the table. Dana Greene was there by request when the possibility of traveling came about. After Stefan passed away, Thomas was assigned to her full time. He was never around but his most important case was to find Kaine Greeley.

Ron left the table to get himself a glass of water. The pressure was starting to get to him.

"So I heard you got into Auror training." Thomas joined him.

"Yeah. Kingsley is letting me know when I start next week. But now with this trip I'm going to postpone it."

"I'm glad Charlotte will have you three traveling with her. You all might as well be Aurors, so she's safe enough." Thomas said. They were silent for a while. "I can see the way she looks at you."

Ron looked over and saw Charlotte staring at him. It wasn't a harsh stare, but it was a soft teasing stare. This was the first time he's caught her staring at him and he shrugged it off and took a drink of his water. She smiled at him then returned to her conversation with Luna and Harry. She picked Teddy up when he threw his hands up in the air and he cuddled into her.

"It's late. Daphne is up waiting for me and you seem to have everything under control here. I'll tell Draco to Floo me if you need me."

Ron barely heard what Thomas had said, he was so focused on Charlotte with Teddy. He looked away when he felt a pair of eyes on him. Narissa's eyes. She was looking at him with a curious expression, then later a dark smile. She broke eye contact to nudge Lucius. He retreated to the hallway immediately to put his pajamas on when he was stopped by Dana Greene.

"Mr. Weasley, you're the one with the bond with Ms. Malfoy, correct?"

"Malfoy? I thought her last name was Black." Ron asked.

"I apologize. She's only recently started going by the name of Black. I've grown accustom to calling her Malfoy." Ron nodded at this.

"I'm glad I caught you privately. We both know you will be going with them, and I will not. I have a few things to show and teach you. You should be the one, because you're the one with the bond."

"What do I need to know?"

She reached for her bag and pulled bottles out.

"This is the potion that relaxes her body after she's used magic. It's a pain reliever mostly. If she's done any challenging magic she should take a dose within an hour, two hours tops. It's very important she take it. It could become dangerous without me there." She put the bottle to the side. "This is something she has to take everyday. It's for her depression. She developed it after years of chronic pain. She's not supposed to consume too much alcohol because of these pills."

Ron nodded in understanding. _So that's why Lucius was watching her closely? What has she done to make him worried?_ "We'll bring a few charmed bags so I'll be able to fit as much as we need to bring."

Charlotte walked into the hallway with a questioning look on her face.

"Ah, Ms. Malfoy. I've just educated him on your potions for the trip. I'll be leaving now. Owl me if you need anything."

"Do you know which room I'm in?" Charlotte asked, waving at Dana goodbye. "I want to see what you've packed for my pajamas."

Ron laughed. "Everything is in Harry's room. You want my "R" sweater, don't you?"

"Maybe." She teased. "Why? Did you pack it?"

They walked to the second floor together and Charlotte went through the bag with her things in it. The "R" sweater was the last thing packed, so it was the first item in the bag. She smiled and got to her feet. She made a motion with her finger that let Ron know he had to turn the other way, and she put the sweater on. It was long on her and went to her thighs.

"Charlie, sweetheart." Narissa stood in the doorway. Ron went red and left the room. "Will this be your bedroom? With Mr. Weasley?" When he heard his name, he stopped down the hall, so he could hear what was being said.

"No, mother. What makes you think we'll be sharing a room?" Charlotte sat on the bed cross legged after putting on pajama pants.

"You share a room at the Weasley's home, do you not? What would make living here any different?"

"I don't want him to feel like he'll always need to be around me. He shouldn't have to share a room with me." Charlotte answered seriously. "He can live his life like a normal wizard."

"I don't know which room is mine." She continued. "This is Harry's bedroom with Teddy because it's the largest. I'm allowed any room I please."

Ron continued to head downstairs. She was really stern when it came to Ron being close to her. She seemed to want him to have a normal life, but had Ron ever had a normal life? The first day he met Harry Potter, life changed completely.

"It's almost 1AM and we're all very tired. We'll all be back in the morning to discuss this trip." Narissa kissed Charlotte on the forehead. "One more thing. Have you noticed the way Draco speaks to the Granger girl?"

"Hermione. Yes, I've noticed. She's a muggle-born. It'd give us an even better name if something happened between them, don't you agree?"

Narissa didn't answer. "Come say goodbye to your father."

* * *

"Papa, I'm not tired." Teddy yawned.

"I know Teddy but Dora is lonely upstairs, don't you think?" Harry picked Teddy up and brought him up to his bed. He had given Teddy a stuffed toy of a cat and named it Dora, after Nymphadora, his mother. It was missing half of an ear, it's whiskers were bent and crooked and the eyes were buttons that were different sizes and color. Teddy treasured it.

When everyone headed home for the night, Luna had invited Hermione to stay with her at her new apartment which left Charlotte, Ron and Harry alone in the Grimmauld place. The three friends decided to spend their first night together in the living room, so Harry had baby monitors set up in his bedroom in case Teddy woke up. They all had blankets set out on the floor and made a comfortable place to sleep.

"That was easy. He fell asleep on the way up to the bedroom." Harry laughed. "Bottle of wine?"

"Ou, yes please." Charlotte agreed. Harry called 'accio' and a bottle of red wine and 3 glasses glided to them. He poured wine into each glass and sat on his blankets.

"I want to bring some color into this place. I want to keep the 'Black' feel to it, but I want it more homey." Harry said.

"I agree. So I see you and Luna are getting more serious." Charlotte hinted.

Harry grinned and took a drink of his wine. "I can honestly picture marrying this girl. It just makes sense."

"Marry? Merlin Harry." Ron almost choked. "You have to have had feelings for her longer than three months."

"I've always fancied Luna, as a friend. Maybe more, but I didn't see it until now. Remember when she was the Quidditch commentator in sixth year? She's been making me laugh for years and that's something I've always needed. She's amusing and has such a positive views on life."

"I can see it happening." Charlotte smiled.

"So what bedroom do you think you'll take?" Harry looked at both Charlotte and Ron.

"Are we going to share a room?" Ron asked her.

"Why would we share a bedroom? There are plenty of rooms in the house. I hope you're not feeling pressured to be my room mate."

"I feel pressure sometimes, you know, having this bond with you. I don't want to fail." Ron's ears turned a little pink. "I look forward to having company every night and if we didn't share a room it'd be weird." Ron told her. "I think it would be nice to share a bedroom again, but have a spare bedroom handy just in case."

Charlotte nodded and admired his words but didn't give him a reply in return. Instead, she finished her first glass of wine.

"Problem solved. You two can have the whole third floor. There's three bedrooms and a bathroom up there. You can have rooms beside each other if that makes it easier."

"When we get back from where ever we're going, we should start renovations straight away!" Charlotte said excitedly.

After an hour of chatting, the three of them fell fast asleep. Charlotte first, then eventually Harry and Ron turned in as well. They were expecting a full house in the morning for breakfast and to discuss the trip so they needed as much sleep as possible.

The morning sun shone brightly through the living room window and woke Ron up first. He noticed Charlotte was oddly close to him but he didn't mind because she seemed well rested because of it.

He got up from the floor and took his blankets to Harry and Teddy's room. That was the only bedroom that was suitable to live in so far. When he opened the door Teddy was sitting on the bed stretching as if he just had woken up.

"Good morning Teddy. Are you hungry?" Ron asked him.

Teddy nodded and held his arms up for Ron to pick him up and he did so. When Ron walked down to the kitchen, Kreacher was busily making breakfast already which made Ron's stomach growl with want. The smell of freshly brewed coffee was soothing and soon Harry and Charlotte woke up from the great smell of the house.

"Merlin, what time is it?"

"Nearly 7." Ron stated. "Draco and the girls should be arriving soon for breakfast."

"Is the shower working?" Charlotte asked. "I'm going to go have a quick one."

"I'll go fix the bathroom up and make sure there are towels for you." Harry left the kitchen.

As Harry left, Luna and Hermione showed up in the Floo like they said. They looked as though they had woken up minutes before.

"Morning everyone." Hermione practically whispered. "Didn't want to *yawn* miss breakfast."

"You're just in time." Ron said.

"Bathroom is ready for anyone who wants a shower." Harry joined. "Good morning Luna." He smiled and kissed her head.

"Luna, come upstairs with me?"

Luna and Charlotte headed upstairs, leaving everyone in the kitchen. Breakfast would be ready within half an hour so Charlotte decided to have a bit of girl talk before hand. She was deprived of having female companionship as a child due to living at the Manor. Narissa would have guests and balls every so often, but Charlotte always spent time with Draco; they were rarely apart. She enjoyed having Luna for company and she was too afraid to look to Hermione for any.

"So Ronald and I are moving into the third floor together." Charlotte nervously said. "He offered to share a room with me."

"Did he? I offered Hermione to move in with me in my new apartment. I hope she doesn't try filling my shelves with her books though." She giggled.

Charlotte grabbed a towel from the cupboard and put it on the bar beside the shower then untied her hair and let it fall down. Her hair was long so it was really knotty from sleeping. Charlotte always had the worst bedhead when she woke up. She put cream on her face that helped her skin and turned the water on in the shower to warm it up. The cream had a secret potion Draco created to help clear all acne. They both used it once a week. There were two shower heads in the tub and Luna got up and turned the other shower head on as well.

"We can save water this way. I'll just pull the curtain in between us." Luna said. "Any objections?"

She turned and grabbed a towel and put a mask over her face as well. Charlotte smiled to herself mischieviously and took Ron's sweater off and baggy pajama pants revealing her body.

"Merlin, you have so many tattoos." Luna said. "That one moves!" She pointed to the one on Charlotte's foot. It was a star constellation, the Dragon to be exact. It was a symbol of her brother, Draco and the stars twinkled on her skin. "How old were you when your parents let you get them?"

"I had my first interest in tattoos when I turned fourteen. I got my first tattoo that year. Just a small pumpkin behind my ear." Charlotte lifted her hair to show her. "Because of my condition, I was always in pain. I would lash out at other people and I couldn't handle hurting them. So I would it in. It hurt so much, I dug my nails into my legs and shoulders until the pain stopped. I ended up with scars and Mother wanted me to magically remove them. It didn't work, so I decided to get some tattoos to cover and distract the eyes from the scars."

"I see. Your scars are beautiful too though, they tell a story." Luna daydreamed. "You have them all over, though."

"Yes well, they get addicting. One tattoo wasn't enough." She smiled.

Charlotte got into the shower and let the hot water slip down her cold skin. She turned and faced a naked Luna to wash the shampoo out of her hair but could barely see her because the curtain came up to their shoulders and they were around the same height. The only way they could see each other was if they purposely peaked. Which, Charlotte would have but it was Luna. Luna was her best female friend.

They washed their face masks off and Charlotte was the first to finish. She turned her faucet off and grabbed her towel and dried her body off then threw the towel around her hair and put her bra and panties on so Luna didn't get a surprise when she got out of the shower. She brushed her teeth and cleaned her face once more then towel dried her hair a bit. Luna was out of the shower now, wrapped in her towel.

"I feel much more awake now." Luna said. "It smells like breakfast is ready."

Charlotte took a sniff and looked as if she were going to drool. She continued to dry her hair as much as she could but left it half dry. It was a little wavy but she put it up in a high bun so it was out of her way. She put on a Chudley Canons t shirt of Ron's and a pair of pink female boxers.

Luna's curls were much more noticeable freshly out of the shower and were golden. She put her pajamas back on and slipped her fuzzy slippers on that looked like pygmy puffs.

"Shall we?"

* * *

"Bill? What are you doing here?" Harry asked. Bill had arrived at the same time as Charlotte and Luna entered the room, with questioning looks.

"I've been requested here by Hermione."

"You're looking at our sixth member on the trip." Draco informed Harry. "Bill is a Curse Breaker in Egypt."

Bill greeted his brother with a clap to the back then gave Harry a gentle nod. He made his way to Charlotte and kissed her cheeks -Fleur had rubbed off on him- and whispered, "_It's been a while, good to see you."_

"Why does it matter if he's from Egypt?" Harry questioned.

"Haven't you been listening?" Hermione shook her head at him. "In the letter it said sphinxes and griffins. Griffins are national, but sphinxes are specifically Egyptian. We're going to check there."

"Egypt. That makes sense. Bill will be escorting us around Egypt then. I have a bit of concern." Charlotte said.

"What is it? Am I not good enough Charlotte? I'm hurt." Bill teased.

"No, Bill you git. Ah, Mother, Father." Charlotte stopped and greeted her parents.

"Charlie sweetheart. Take me to another room." Narissa commanded as sweetly as she could.

"What is it?" Charlotte asked once they were in the living room.

"I have a proposition for you. It was your fathers idea. You're headed to Egypt with your friends. I've been up most of the night planning a whole vacation for the six of you."

"A vacation? Mother this is a business trip."

"It doesn't have to be just business. Your first stop will be France. Your Father and I will be staying at the Manor in France for a week so we can enjoy it with you for a few days. That's our only condition. You have dinner with us a few times before we leave for London."

"Mother? We're all going on vacation? They can't afford it."

"We're willing to pay for the charges. We decided you've all been through enough and they're taking the time to help us with you. You all deserve a few months in paradise."

"Months?"

"50 days. Here." Narissa left the room and joined the full kitchen. Charlotte looked over the notebook and it was full. Full of plans and activities and Charlotte was speechless. She followed Narissa shortly after.

"So what was your bit of concern?" Bill asked when he noticed Charlotte walk back in.

"Oh. Erm, I was concerned with the fact you're all doing me a favor and we should take the opportunity of being in Egypt and enjoy ourselves for a week. But my Mother has fixed that." She didn't even know what to say.

"I hope you can clear your schedules." Narissa said.

After a couple of hours of planning, the table was full of enjoyment. Luna had been invited along for the trip until they get to Egypt and business starts, and Teddy was going with them as well. Harry didn't want to spend that much time apart from Teddy. None of them were sure how long they would be in Egypt for so Harry decided to take Teddy with him and was going to pay for his expenses.

They planned to stay at the Grimmauld place and the Burrow until New Years day, then go to Shell Cottage for five days to prepare, pack and train with Bill. Their first stop was France for twenty days then Italy for ten. After that, they were to stop by Romania to visit Charlie for five days because he was always busy with work, then spend ten days in beautiful Greece. Egypt would be their last stop and they were going to stay there and enjoy themselves for a week and end their vacation and say goodbye to Luna and Teddy. Luna was going to watch Teddy at the Grimmauld place with Andromeda.

Narissa had written down a few locations to visit in each place and had planned out their hotels for them. It took her all night, and she finished planning it while they were there for breakfast. She put a lot of thought and money into the vacation and made sure everything was perfect. Her main reason was because she wanted Charlotte to have fun without worrying for once. She wanted Draco to take the girl he fancies on a romantic trip and woo her. She wanted her son and daughter to get away from London. And as horrible as it was to think, if Charlottes death was eminent, she wanted her to see more of the world.

After the planning was finished and everyone except for Luna and Hermione left for home, Harry had come up with an idea.

"Remember those house rules we made?" He asked Ron and Charlotte. They nodded.

"We should have a new years eve party. We're leaving for Shell Cottage January 1st to start our "vacation." It'd be nice to have a big celebration and thanks to the Daily Prophet, Charlotte's identity is no longer a secret. We can invite friends from Hogwarts and introduce her to everyone, and catch up with old friends."

Hermione and Luna, who had been discussing their future apartment, cut in. "A party? For new years? That's only two weeks away! We must send invitations out immediately!" Hermione sprung into brain mode.

"Yeah mate, that would be fun. All room mates have to agree, so Charlotte? What do you say?"

"Of course! I'd love to meet your friends. May I invite some of my old class mates as well?"

"I'll start making a guest list now." Hermione smiled.

The guest list was indeed a large variety. But Ron had his mind elsewhere. New years eve was two weeks away, whereas Christmas was in merely a week. He had a strange thought that he should buy something special for Charlotte. He felt closer to her today than most days and he kept feeling her eyes on him. He didn't dare look to confirm that thought. It was true, you could say he had found her attractive when he first saw her. He remembered watching her and Luna run through the field around the Burrow.

Why did he ask Harry if she was single? Deep down, he knew he wanted to pursue her, and wanted nothing more. He pushed the thoughts to the back of his mind the deeper the thought became. Insecurity had chased any hopes he had away. He was satisfied with the fact she needed him, even if it wasn't emotionally. This was the first time he had admitted it to himself.

Even with those thoughts, he decided he would get her something special for Christmas. He was bloody clueless as to what that special something was, and had no choice but to turn to Draco Malfoy for help.

That was something he didn't necessarily want to do.


	14. Cotton Candy

Authors Note: Long chapter, hope you enjoy/review. What you may have been waiting for happens in this chapter ;)

* * *

"Hello Narissa." Molly smiled warmly. Narissa greeted Molly with an equal amount of joy.

Narissa had invited Molly to lunch at the Empire of Expelliarmus. There were five days left until Christmas morning and everyone was feeling extra cheery. The restaurant was decorated with winter decor and had snow falling from the ceiling like in Hogwarts. Even though everything looked cold and wintery, it had a very warm feel to the place.

"Harry told you we're having Christmas at the Grimmauld place?" Molly asked her to start a conversation.

"Yes, I received the invitation early this morning. It seems the boy never sleeps. We had gotten the letter just before 6AM." Narissa smiled gently. Her features were stern and boney but smiling gave her an elegant look.

"Teddy must have kept him up or had him up early." Molly said.

"What are your traditions?"

Molly was caught off guard. "What do you mean? Christmas traditions?" Narissa nodded.

"We wake up early and have breakfast as a family and then sit around the tree to hand out gifts. We open them together unless the gifts are more private. Then we go our separate ways for a few hours to enjoy our gifts or spend time with friends. Afterwards, we spend Christmas dinner together." Molly smiled. "What are your traditions?"

"We always go to the Manor we have in France. We'd open our gifts together then continue on with our day. Lucius was always busy, you see." Narissa bit her lip as if she had said too much. She was a very private woman. But she was on a mission and needed to warm up to Molly.

"So, Molly, have you noticed anything odd with our children?"

* * *

"Are you going somewhere?" Charlotte asked Draco as he put his winter apparel on.

"Harry and Ron are joining me to the Manor for a couple drinks."

"I suppose I can ask Father to take me Christmas shopping. Or Luna, actually." Charlotte bid Draco goodbye and went on a hunt for Luna.

"Ready?" Draco asked Harry as he walked down the stairs. He was holding Teddy and seemed to be exhausted with light bags under his eyes. Draco wondered what it was like for Harry to take Teddy right after the war was done. The war took a toll on every witch or wizard, but most of all on Harry. And he took parenthood on right after it was finished. One mission to the next.

"I just have to put his coat on. Andromeda will be here soon to get him. Luna is going to watch him so we can head out now." Harry answered, then left to find Luna as well.

Ron came down next, ready to go. He had a nervous feeling in his stomach. He didn't know whether or not talking to him about Charlotte was a good idea. After all, Draco was her brother and also an ex-enemy.

"All set." Harry said. The three of them left the Grimmauld place and apparated to the Manor.

It had been years since they were at the Manor. The last time they were there, it was during the war. Ron had been helpless as he heard Hermione's screams and that was where they found Luna and Mr. Ollivander.

They reached the front entrance.

"I know what you're thinking." Draco said, staring at the door with Harry and Ron behind him. They looked at each other but Draco continued to stare at the front door. "It took me a while to return here after the war. Charlie was the one that ended up getting me to return. It's a lot different now."

He opened the door, and he was right. Everything was different. The feel of the Manor was completely different. It was no longer stone, dark and cold. The floors were a deep brown and hardwood. They had warm colored rugs and banners all around and portraits on almost every wall. They had candles lit all over and they were enchanted to never run out of wax. You also couldn't just blow them out, they had to be magically extinguished. There was also a lot more windows than there was before. The whole main room had a wall that was just one big window. And they had a lot of plants. Harry pictured Narissa tending to the plants.

"Wow, Draco. You weren't kidding." Harry gasped. "There's even red and gold colors in here." He grinned, thinking of how much Draco used to hate Griffyndor anything.

"The red is for Durmstrang. As well as the brown. We couldn't just have Slytherin themes. The bar is down here." He motioned towards a long hallway they hadn't seen before. It was a hallway that led to a hide out Draco and Charlotte had created for themselves.

The hallway was longer than necessary which had Ron confused until he noticed what was on the walls.

"What is this?" He said.

"Oh, the paintings? Charlie. She couldn't use much magic so she turned to painting. She's rather good at it."

The paintings weren't on canvas, they were painted right onto the walls in sections. There were paintings of dragons, unicorns and ugly looking goblins in one painting. Ron almost had a panic attack when he saw the acromantula section. Spiders everywhere, huge detailed skinny hairy spiders. He went a little white and decided he wouldn't spend time looking at that one.

The next painting was an enchanted looking tree with a herd of bowtruckle guarding it. They blended in with the tree but Charlotte made them noticable. They were also enchanted to move and flutter around the tree. Around the tree was a centaur on one side, and a chimera on the other. A chimera is a beast with a lions head, a goats body and a dragons tail. Ron was pleased he had never run into one before.

While looking at the paintings he almost forgot who painted them. He then knew what to get Charlotte for Christmas. The rest of the wall was taken up with dragons and fairies. The biggest dragon she had painted was the antipodean opaleye. He suspected that was her favorite.

Ron didn't realize Harry and Draco had left the hallway already until Draco called him over. "Are you finished?"

"Yeah." Ron was grateful he was able to stop his face from blushing.

"Here." Draco handed him a fine looking beer. "Cheers."

For the next couple of hours, the three men bonded in a way. Draco had always been jealous of Ron, for being friends with Harry when that's all Draco had wanted as a child. He was now bonding with the two of them and it didn't feel odd any longer. They discussed Auror training and Quidditch Academy and eventually landed on girls.

"I know there's somethin' goin' on between you n' Sharlie." Draco slurred. The had switched to a fine scotch an hour prior. Tomorrow was only Christmas Eve so they knew they wouldn't have to wake up early with a hangover. "But s'okay, s'long as you don't break her..." He pointed to his heart.

Ron didn't say anything. He didn't want to say something stupid in front of Draco and Harry, and they were a little intoxicated so he chose to keep his mouth closed.

The three of them ended up staying over the Manor that evening. Harry and Ron slept in spare bedrooms next to each other. They all woke up with hangovers, but Ron woke up first in search of hangover potions from any wandering house elf. He figured they'd have more than one, so one had to be walking around close by.

He ran into someone else though. "Ah, Mr. Weasley. I was informed you and Mr. Potter had slept over. Confirmed." She smiled. "Do you need any assistance with anything?"

Ron pondered for a moment. He could use Narissa's assistance with the gift he had in mind.

* * *

It was Christmas Eve at the Grimmauld place and the house was loud and packed. Narissa and Lucius were spending the night in Regulus's bedroom, and Molly and Arthur were spending the night in Sirius's. Every room was packed.

Hermione, Luna and Ginny were sleeping in a bedroom on the third floor. Luna had been a little worried because she thought Ginny still resented her but it seemed to be quiet the opposite. Ginny had been going steady with Viktor Krum for a couple months now and had put every bit of hatred behind her. Viktor had been invited to stay with them for Christmas by Molly but he wasn't allowed to share a room with Ginny.

Charlotte, Draco and Viktor shared a room on the third floor as well. They were in the room that would eventually be Ron and Charlottes.

Harry, Ron and Teddy shared Harry's bedroom. It felt like years ago, when Harry and Ron would room together. Only now, there was a toddler between them. Things were definitely changing.

Everyone was called to the kitchen before bed. They were all in their pajamas and didn't look tired at all, excitement reached every inch of their faces.

"Before you go to bed, Lucius and I thought we'd give the children their gifts." Narissa laughed. They weren't children anymore.

With a swish of her wand, a small box landed in front of Harry, Luna, Hermione, Draco, Ron and Harry.

They opened their boxes and Hermione and Harry both laughed. The rest of them were confused.

"What is this supposed to be?" Draco asked with an eyebrow raised. Holding a muggle device in his hand.

"You're traveling the muggle way, so we thought this would be good for communication." Narissa answered.

"You know about phones?" Hermione asked politely.

"Of course we do. We may have had our opinions in the past, but we've always known about the muggle world. It would have been weak not to know about it."

"How tactical." Hermione said to herself. Narissa smiled in approval.

"Mother, you never taught Charlie and I about these. Are you going to explain what they are?"

"Oh hush Draco. They're cell phones. They allow you to call others who have them, or you can send them "letters" instantly with it. Hermione and Harry can teach you how to use them." Narissa scolded him. "The phones are paid off, and they're good until you return. If you grow to enjoy them, you can buy a contract and keep them."

"Thank you Mrs. Malfoy." Hermione and Luna said.

Draco made his way over to Hermione and whispered in her ear. "I hope you know you're teaching me how to use this thing." She smiled and looked down at her feet.

When they all made their way to their bedrooms, they all briefly knew how to use their new devices. Charlotte and Draco shared the double sized bed and Viktor slept on the single bed on the other side of the room. They were too awake to sleep so the three of them stayed up chatting about Quidditch and girls.

Charlotte heard something vibrating on her night table and panicked. "What is that!" She hollered.

Draco got up from the bed and picked up her phone, which vibrated once more in his hand. He yelped and chucked it across the room.

"Draco! You idiot, that's my phone! Why would you throw it?"

He turned a little pink. "I freaked out. The noise was coming from it." He returned to his bed and got under the covers, covering his head.

"Are you sulking? Big baby." Charlotte teased. She went over and picked up her phone

She clicked a button and a box that said "New Message" was on the screen. She clicked select and a message from Ron was there. She smiled instantly and opened it.

To: Charlotte  
From: Ron  
Message: Miss my roomie. Have a good sleep.

Charlotte smiled widely and tried to remember how to reply. Eventually she figured it out and sent him a text message.

To: Ron  
From: Charlotte  
Message: You too. Goodnight, Ronald.

* * *

When all of the clocks in the Grimmauld Place hit 6AM, alarms throughout the whole house went off. They weren't harsh alarms, they were Christmas jingles. Merry music played through the house gently along with the humming of Molly and Narissa. The two of them decided to make breakfast together while the rest of the family continued their slumber.

Teddy was cuddled into Harry on the right side of the bed, and Ron was on the left side. He turned over in his bed after hearing the music playing, and bumped into someone. Charlotte had ended up in his bed during the night and he had only realized now. He had dreamed he had his arm around her waist and now he was wondering if it was really a dream or not. He decided to pretend he was still sleeping.

He noticed she tensed, and slowly got out of bed. He opened his eyes a little and saw she was massaging her shoulder muscles. He figured she was feeling some pain and decided to sneak into his room during the night to make herself feel better. Was she starting to get withdrawal? Was she starting to get too used to being around him? He hoped deep down she just missed him.

She got out of bed and walked quietly out of the room and headed down to the kitchen. Molly and Narissa were surprisingly getting along rather well and it was odd to look at but you'd eventually get used to it.

"Morning darling. Go wake everyone up for breakfast."

Charlotte sighed and retreated back upstairs once again and opened Harry's bedroom door and opened the curtains until the sun was shining in their faces. Then she left before she could hear their negative tones. She went to the third floor to her own bedroom and jumped on the bed.

"Draco! Get up! It's Christmas!" Then she jumped from her bed to Viktor's and jumped on him until he woke up as well. "Viktor! Wake up!"

Viktor got up and grabbed her and threw her on her own bed in a playful manor.

"Go wake up your woman." Charlotte teased. "As well as the two." Then she tickled Draco until he yelled in protest.

Slowly, in pairs everyone went down to the kitchen. Ron noticed Charlotte hadn't looked at him at all.

They all sat together at the dinner table and greeted each other happily. Draco sat with his little sister and his parents, with Hermione next to him. Charlotte suspected she was the one he was messaging late into the night. She didn't push him on the topic though.

Harry sat with Luna, and Teddy was on her lap. Teddy was warming up to Luna rather quickly, and it pleased him. Watching Luna parent Teddy made him want to marry her so much more. She would be a great mother and she proved him correct more and more everyday. His own parents married and had Harry young, but he needed motherly advice on how slow to take things. He decided it was time to talk to Molly.

He kissed Luna on the forehead and beamed at his family. The war finished three and a half years ago and he was finally at rest, finally happy. He watched Viktor coo over Ginny like a protective husband would and smiled. Ginny and Harry were both planning to be professional quidditch players, but Harry was ready to settle down and have a family, where as Ginny was ready to start her career, then settle down later. Viktor wanted what she wanted, and he was perfect for her. Harry couldn't help but direct a smile in her direction.

Something that was odd but seemed to fit well together also was Draco and Hermione. Harry watched them and saw the potential, it was now all up to a stubborn Hermione. He saw the way Draco would sneak looks at her. Sometimes it was affection, and sometimes it was pain. It seemed he hadn't moved on and let himself be forgiven. Harry approved of them and it was something he never thought could happen.

Harry raised his glass of orange juice and stood from his seat.

"Merry Christmas everyone. I would never in a million years think I would look around this very table and see these faces. The ones I've grown up with, good or bad, and ones that changed my life for good. This has been the happiest year of my life."

Everyone clapped and said Merry Christmas to each other. Charlotte still had given Ron any acknowledgement but he decided to leave it be.

After an hour of eating and cleaning, Teddy was finally restless. "Papa!" He scolded. "Is it time yet?"

"Yes sweetheart." He laughed gently. Luna picked him up and carried him to the living room, with everyone following behind. The room was decorated beautifully by Kreacher. Tinsel was hung all over the ceiling, a mistletoe was hung near the Christmas tree, and the tree itself was hitting the ceiling. It was big and a wonderful deep green, with colors reaching every inch of it. There was a crest of Ravenclaw, put there by Luna and a crest of Gryffindor. There was a Slytherin crest on the tree as well, and Harry suspected Hermione had put it there for Draco's sake. The Hufflepuff crest was there for Teddy. His mother was a Hufflepuff and Harry wanted Teddy to know as much about them as possible.

There was a seat for everyone. But somehow, no one took them. Everyone sat on the floor near the tree, including the Malfoys.

Molly decided to take charge, that was something that always happened on Christmas.

"We know some of you have gifts you'd rather give in private, so no one will put on the spot. Now, little Teddy! Go to the tree. That's right, good. Find the ones with your name on it!"

While Teddy jumped for joy and looked for his gifts, Molly handed out her hand knitted gifts to everyone. George and Angelina had just arrived as well as Andromeda. Harry nodded to her with a grin as they both watched Teddy joyfully search for his present.

Ron watched Charlotte beam at Molly as she placed a gift in her hands. She unwrapped it messily at the same time as everyone else and they were all given hand made mittens with the first letter of their names on it, with a matching hat. Charlotte got pale yellow, Hermione got deep red, Ron got typically maroon, Harry got green, Draco got a deep green, Ginny got a pale purple, Angelina got baby pink, George got navy blue and Viktor got a chocolate brown.

Everyone separately hugged Molly. Teddy was the youngest so he got a full set. A hat, scarves, mittens, and feet warmers. His hair was bright blue so the color Molly chose was a lighter shade. He was pleased.

"Found it!" Teddy yelled excitedly. The beautifully wrapped box was the size of Teddy himself. He began ripping open the wrapping paper and the box was plain.

"What is it Papa!"

"Open the box!"

Luna lightly assisted Teddy with opening the box and Teddy finally got inside. He frowned when he stuck his hand in because the box was so big, and all he could feel was a skinny stick. He pulled it out and his eyes got wide with wonder.

"It's a trainers broomstick Teddy." Harry smiled happily at his godson.

Harry helped him take the whole broom out of it's case and Teddy couldn't contain himself, but he did so he could watch everyone else recieve their gifts. Harry found his gift for Hermione and handed the small box to her and winked at her. It was in a gift box, not wrapped so she lifted the lid and it revealed a muggle perfume she had been looking at when they were shopping together. Chanel. The smile she had reached from her lips to her eyes and she embraced Harry and mouthed him a 'thank you'.

At the same time, Ron was opening his gift from Harry and was blown away. It was a new broom stick that was signed by the chaser from the Chudley Cannons, his favorite quidditch team. He also opened Hermione's gift, which was of course, a book. A book he was supposed to buy for Auror training, but Hermione figured he would procrastinate and not purchase it. She had also given Harry a book on Quidditch training and he was pleased.

Charlotte and Draco were pulled to the side by their parents and were each given medium sized boxes with holes in the sides.

"Merry Christmas darlings." Narissa kissed them. Lucius smiled and put an arm around Narissa's waist.

They opened the boxes at the same time. "Merlin! Really Mother?" Charlotte asked. She couldn't help but smile. Draco was grinning widely and put his hand in the box and a small baby orange snake slithered up his arm. Charlotte let her own pale yellow snake curl around her fingers and stick out it's tongue.

"They grow as big as you allow them. They can shrink or grow. It's good for traveling." Lucius informed them.

"What do you think we should name them?" Draco asked Charlotte.

"Actually, they already have names." Harry cut in, slightly embarrassed. His close friends knew he was a parselmouth. He thought he would lose the ability once he had killed Voldermort, but some things never leave you.

Draco knew better and didn't want to put Harry on the spot in front of everyone so instead, he asked a different question.

"What are their names then?" Draco half smiled.

"Charlotte's is named Kio. A Korean name. Yours is...Honey."

"How masculine." Draco rolled his eyes. "Alright Honey, up you go." Honey slithered to sit on his shoulders, like a necklace.

"Hey Charlotte." Luna greeted. "Here you go." She smiled. She handed Charlotte an eye glass. It was a little broken and the frame around was a beautiful emerald stone. "It helps you find what you're looking for. It was my fathers."

"Thank you Luna! I hope it comes in handy this year. Since you're here..." She went in search of Luna's gift. "Here." She caught Harry's eye and gave him a wink as Luna opened a box of sexy lingere. Harry's face went instantly red. Everyone that noticed laughed which caused his face to get even more red.

"Here's your real gift." She handed her a pair of earrings that were shaped like pearl shells. "They sing lullaby's and songs to you. And if you ask them questions, they'll answer."

"How interesting." Luna daydreamed. She put them in her ears and hummed away.

Hermione, Charlotte and Luna finished exchanging gifts. Hermione had given Charlotte, Luna and Ginny anklets each. Luna and Charlotte received silver chains, and Ginny a gold chain. Luna's had a raven charm on it that sparkled and shimmered when she was happy. Ginny was given one with a lion charm attached with a red ruby over the heart. Charlotte's had two charms. One was a snake for her Malfoy parents, and one was a lion head for Sirius.

Charlotte hugged Hermione tightly. It was their first genuine moment together.

Luna had given Hermione a magically bookcase. It was small, so Hermione laughed thinking _'That will not be enough room_.' But then Luna picked up a book and tapped it on the bookshelf and the book shrank down to the size of her hand. Charlotte had given Hermione her first book to put on the shelf. It was a beautiful silver crafted journal that would only allow Hermione to open it and would give her advice when asked and would help her study.

When the three girls were finished enjoying their time together, Charlotte made her way over to Harry. She handed him an envelope and smiled then made her way over to Draco. Harry opened it and was in awe. It was an invitation to a major quidditch team party. Sponsers all over the world would be there along with Chudley Cannons, Holyhead Harpies, Puddlemere United, Bulgarian National Team and Irish National Team. There was a ticket with his name on it, and with a +1. He would take Ron to let him meet his favorite quidditch team.

"Draco, I think it's time to go give Harry his gift." She leaned against the wall and played with Kio.

Harry was still alone, and Draco took it to his advantage.

"Merry Christmas, Harry." Draco attempted to smile. It was still strange to him. He had always wanted to be friends with Harry and now he had a chance. Before he could give Harry his gift, Harry pulled a long small box from under the tree.

"Don't play with me Harry." Draco tensed.

"I spoke with the Minister. I've grown to know you and I think it's time you're reunited." Harry opened the box and revealed Draco's wand. The wand that defeated the Dark Lord three years prior. The wand was the master of the Elder wand, and also shattered when the killing curse attempted to kill Harry. Harry repaired his own wand, and Draco's with the Elder wand but the Ministry decided Draco should not get it back in case he hadn't changed his ways. Harry decided otherwise, and changed the Ministers wand.

"Harry, I...I can't thank you enough." Holding the wand was a feeling he couldn't describe. "But I can try. Here. Severus had a muggle vault in his home town. When he died, the vault was open to us." He handed Harry a shoe box. "You might want to open it alone."

Harry nodded and decided to put the box in his bedroom.

Draco turned around, looking at his wand. He had a death grip on it. He bumped into Hermione to his surprise and it cut off his concentration. She slipped something into his pocket. "Merry Christmas."

"Come with me." He commanded. And she walked with him to the floo.

Harry made his way to his bedroom and noticed Charlotte laying on his bed with Kio slithering around her and she was whispering.

"Everything alright?"

"Perfect." Charlotte smiled. She was wearing a brown leather wand holster around her calf. "My gift from Draco." She noted. "He thinks I'll be healed." She smiled. "He always keeps me hopeful."

"Since I've got you here, I wanted to give you something. It's just a family ring. It was your fathers. Sirius's. Passed down to all Black males." He had put the ring on a chain necklace and put it around her neck for her. She whispered a thank you and told him to open his box from Draco.

He sighed and sat at the end of the bed and did so. His face immediately got hot and his eyes watered. It was a box full of pictures of his mother. He dug deeper and found pictures that he had never seen before. Pictures of him as a baby, pictures of his parents wedding, and them as teenagers. There was a letter inside to Snape From Lily, explaining him to keep her pictures safe for Harry one day because she knew the Dark Lord was looking for them.

The ones of Lily were muggle photo's. Petunia was in some of them. Harry thought he'd show Dudley one day. His mother seemed like a happy child. There were photo's of Snape with Lily as well, when they were eleven. He seemed happier and less dark, although still dark. His eyes were full of hope. Harry felt sorry for him. Harry was glad he had his mothers eyes. Seeing the photos brought him closer to her.

He kept digging and found a few magical photo's of James and Lily together. Sirius was in the background, and Remus reading a book. He found a few photo's of Lily pregnant. She looked tired but happy. Behind the photo, was a photo of her in the delivery room. Harry was nestled in her arms safely. He couldn't help the tears flow from his eyes. They were happy tears, but sad. He dearly wished he had grown up with them. Everything would have been completely different. The last photo he picked up was their wedding photo. They were in a meadow taking photos, with all their loved ones around. They were kissing and smiling. James looked so happy and in love.

"I'm giving Luna a promise ring." Harry finally said. He didn't know why he said that, of all things. Looking at his family gave him so many emotions at once he couldn't think straight.

"A promise ring? For Christmas? That's beautiful, Harry." She put a hand on his shoulder. "You know, you wouldn't be rushing if you proposed. You can stay engaged for years. A promise and an engagement aren't very different." Harry hadn't thought of it that way.

Someone cleared their throat in the doorway, and the two of them looked and saw Ron standing in the doorway.

"I was wondering if I could borrow Charlotte." He looked directly at her. He was pleased she was finally looking at him.

"Yes, I have to go find Luna and Teddy anyway. See ya." He made his way passed them.

They stood there facing each other for what felt like eternity. He suddenly took her hand and pulled her up to the third floor. When they reached one of the rooms, they didn't part hands. He cast a charm that unlocked a ward and opened the door. The sun was shone brightly through the windows and Charlotte stepped inside. Ron squeezed her hand and let go as she walked forward. She was looking at an art room. It had a wooden desk with shelves and cups with paint brushes and pencils. There was an art easel in the corner with canvas's on shelves waiting to be painted.

"How did you...?" She turned to him.

"I saw your hallway." His ears tinted red.

She walked around the small room further, investigating. There were books on muggle artists and wizard artists. Ron had built up the courage to ask Narissa for assistance and she happily obliged and helped him bring over some of Charlotte's art things over. Her paintings from her Manor bedroom hung on the walls and even her childhood drawings. She had painted a wooden skull beautiful colors, and that was sitting on top of her desk, with drawing pens sticking out of the top.

She hadn't painted for over a year. The room made her feel more at home. She made her way to him and got on her tippy toes and kissed him right on the lips softly. Her lips barely touched his, as if he would break. Then she placed a ring in his hand.

"This is for you. I had it made specifically for you, for when you're an Auror. It gets hot when danger is near and you're not aware." The ring had a wolfs face on it, Charlotte chose that animal because it's a symbol of Bulgaria, and Durmstrang.

He lifted his hands up and cupped her face gently. He leaned in, afraid she would turn away, but when she didn't, he pressed his lips to hers once more. Kio slithered his way down Ron's shirt causing him to jump backward and dance a funny dance.

Charlotte couldn't help but laugh. "We should go back downstairs." She laughed as she got Kio from under Ron's shirt.

* * *

"So what did Draco give you for Christmas? I saw you left with him after I gave him his wand."

Hermione blushed. She was nervous Harry wouldn't approve but at the same time she knew Draco and Harry had a special bond between them that the both of them chose to ignore.

"We flooed to the Manor and he gave me a tour. Then he took me to the library."

Harry laughed. "He sure does know you."

"Yes well, the library in the Manor is bigger than the library at Hogwarts. It was extravagant. It had windows all over every wall, and every book imaginable. He brought me over to one part of the library, a cute corner. There was a small table with tea and lunch prepared. I could tell Draco did it himself, not a house elf. It was so sweet."

"That was your gift?"

"Yes. And he asked if he could court me."

"Court? Like what our grandparents used to do?"

"It's a tradition in his family." Hermione blushed more than she ever had. She found the gesture to be the best moment of her life romantically. He was really nervous about it, and messed up his words. She had butterflies from that moment, up until now. "He liked my gift." Hermione smiled. She had given him a charmed pocket watch. It was silver, with a serpent on the front. It did not tell time, though. If you spoke the name of someone close to you, family or friend, it would tell Draco where they were and if they were safe. Hermione had taken the idea from Molly's clock, and thought it would be in handy for him once he became an Auror.

Harry suppressed a laugh. He loved seeing Hermione in distress.

"You're such a boy." Hermione rolled her eyes. "Also, have you noticed a change in Charlotte and Ronald?"

Harry nodded. They had both noticed him doing more small gestures for her, like make her tea every morning and always being ready to help her with anything. Harry saw them laying on their bed looking up at the ceiling just talking but he swore he could see their finger tips touching. Possibly entwined.

"How do you feel about it now?"

"Better. I've grown to really like Charlotte. And I have someone better suited for me possibly. It sometimes sucks, because he seems to have passion for her that I didn't see from him, but Draco gives me that." She answered. "Where's Luna and Teddy?"

"Oh, they're out shopping for boxing day with Andromeda. Giving me a little break." They heard the front door open. "Oh, that's them!" He heard Teddy crying and immediately bolted to the door.

Luna was carrying him but Harry quickly removed him and started cooing him. "What the bloody hell happened?"

Teddy cuddled into Harry and tried to breathe but he was crying so his breaths were short.

"We were in a store, Teddy was walking around the toy section with me and as I talked to a clerk another boy came around. He started to make fun of Teddy for having blue hair. That's not all though." Luna said before Harry could speak. "The mother came around as I picked Teddy up. She started yelling at me for having a child with blue hair. She was calling me a bad mother and then told Teddy he shouldn't be in my care with his ridiculous blue hair. She caused a scene."

Charlotte was there now with Ronald, listening to the explanation. Harry looked livid. Charlotte took Teddy from him and he went upstairs to Sirius's room. The farthest room from anyone, he needed to let his anger out.

As Luna comforted Teddy as best she could, she managed to calm him down. She suspected he was upset because he didn't have a mother. He was only three, but he was a smart kid. He was Remus's son. To have a woman call Luna a bad mother and make fun of his blue hair was the first time anyone has said anything so hurtful to him.

"Come." Charlotte grabbed Hermione's hand and Luna holding Teddy, followed. They ended up in the bathroom.

"Get your wand, Hermione." Hermione listened and had her wand in her hand.

"Teddy. Having blue hair is beautiful! We all have boring hair, look! Boring black hair. You have hair that's fun and special. I want special hair just like you Teddy, we'll both be special together." Charlotte kissed his forehead and he smiled, wiping his tears from his eyes. Harry had blown off some steam and felt guilty for not being there for Teddy, but when he heard Charlotte speaking, he didn't interrupt, he just stood in the doorway.

"Hermione, I want you to magically bleach my hair, then turn it baby pink." Hermione's eyes widened, but she did as she was told. The process was difficult and lasted twenty minutes, but her hair turned from black to orange to white. Then Hermione cast another spell and it turned a light shade of pink. It was darker than Hermione intended, but it would eventually fade to a baby pink. It looked rather cute.

Charlotte took Teddy from Luna and faced him to the mirror. "Look Teddy! We're cotton candy colors." Harry came in behind and kissed Charlotte behind the head then took Teddy from her and took him up to his bedroom and no one had seen them for a few hours, but they did hear laughter.

They had a late dinner that night, but it was cheerful. The snow was falling heavy and in bigger flakes than usual and covered every inch outside. Harry had noticed Ron kept stealing glances at Charlotte. He probably admired Charlotte for dying her hair, but also figured he found it attractive. It did suit her.

"I'm going to keep my hair like this on our trip, so Teddy feels comfortable the whole time." Charlotte told them. "Plus if anyone tells me I'm a bad mother, someone should close Teddy's eyes. It won't be pretty."

"Good old Malfoy blood." Draco teased. "I'm heading out now. Mother insists on helping me pack as if I'm a child and we're leaving for Shell cottage the day after the new years party in four days. I know I have a lot to pack but honestly. Four days prior. She's mental."

Hermione left with him. He apparated her to her to Luna's flat and kissed her hand goodnight. They still hadn't kissed and he wanted to save it, but he didn't know how much longer he could wait. But he was courting her and he tried to keep focused.

After Hermione and Draco left, Harry and Luna took Teddy up to bed, then went to bed themselves.

"Shall we?" Ron asked, getting up from his seat. Charlotte stood up as well, following him. There was tension between them and they both knew it. Neither of them wanted to get too close, but at the same time they both wanted to jump each other.

They headed up to their bedroom and once they arrived they looked at their bed. They hadn't discussed the sleeping arrangements. Charlotte brushed it off, trying not to make it awkward and threw her hair up into a high bun. She had a big muscle shirt of Ron's on, and his baggy pajama pants. She got on the bed and slipped under the covers and faced the opposite direction.

Ron opened the curtain so the moon was shining in, and turned the lights off. When he got into bed, she could feel the heat come right off of him. She moved her head farther back until it was on his pillow and shuffled closer to him.

"You're so warm." She whispered.

"Goodnight." He said and kissed her bare, freckled shoulder.

As he did so, Charlotte felt a euphoric feeling in the pit of her stomach. It was as if the magic that ran through her blood pumped a little faster. She turned and faced Ron. Their bodies were so close and their noses were almost touching. He put her hair behind her ear and brought her face closer to his until their lips met. Her lips were cold, his were warm.

His hands found her backside and softly brought her body as close to him as possible. Charlotte was still lost in his kiss.

They paused to breathe for a short moment. He put his hand behind her neck, bringing her in for more. This kiss wasn't as soft. His tongue slid through her lips and danced along with hers, it was the sweetest of kisses.

Charlotte kissed him harder, and he shifted on top of her. His tall body arched over her petite frame and the heat between them raged. Charlotte slipped her hands underneath his shirt, feeling the trail of hair under his belly button, then moved to his back, pulling him closer to her.

He gave her lips a break and kissed her neck gently and a small moan escaped her lips. Their breath was heavier now.

Charlotte slowly lifted Ron's shirt up and over his head. They were both at the point of no return. She could feel him hard against her leg and softly kissed his collarbone, then to his neck, and then his jaw until she found his lips once more.

He moved his hands down her body, touching her smooth thighs and hips. She removed her pajama top and the moonlight silhouetted her outline, which made Ron want her all the more. She plled his body once more on top of her tightly, her breasts pushed up against his chest, letting him know she wanted him just as badly.


	15. Acceptance

Authors Note: Thank you to YANIsweetness7, for sticking by me from chapter 1. Your reviews and support mean a lot and always motivate me to keep writing.

* * *

"The guests should be arriving soon. Open the floo." Lucius ordered Kreacher, who happily served the Malfoy. "Now darling, you promised you would spend the night at the Manor last night since you leave for your trip tomorrow afternoon, and you followed through. But I ask one more thing of you."

Charlotte was temporarily distracted with Kio slithering around her neck. Something her parents didn't realize when purchasing the snakes, was that they can connect to their owners minds. Lucius had bought the snakes from a dark magic dealer and the snakes were previously undergoing testing for Death Eaters. They were going to be used for communication to the dark lord and put through tests that no animal or reptile should be put through.

One of the abilities Kio had was to open his mind and use telepathy with Charlotte to communicate. Harry no longer had to be the middle man. Kio had told Charlotte all that he was through and over the passed week she had fallen in love with her pet.

Charlotte had allowed Kio to grow two feet long, and sit heavily along her shoulders. When Lucius called her name loudly to get her attention she jumped, and Kio shrunk back down to his baby size.

"What?" Charlotte gasped. "Oh, one more thing? Of course Father. Ask away." Charlotte put her innocent expression on to win him over.

"Breakfast tomorrow morning. Just your mother, Draco and I, at the Manor. Oh, and not to mention when you get to Paris I expect you to owl us straight away."

"Breakfast? That sounds nice. You're acting as if I'll never come home." She whispered. But after noticing his expression she kissed his cheek. "Come Kio. I have to change my outfit for the party." In a daze, Charlotte headed upstairs.

She was headed off with Harry, holding Teddy. "Hey sweetie." She ruffled Teddy's hair. "I mean Cotton." She winked.

"Draco is in your room throwing your clothes around, just so you're aware. The hero is still in me, and your clothes seem to need a hero right now." Harry contained laughter. Charlotte's eyes bulged out and she raced up to her bedroom.

"DRAC-" She stared at her bedroom, with her jaw dropped. Ron was standing in the corner unsure of what to say or do. He held his hands up to show his innocence.

"What are you doing! I just packed all of that for the trip!" Charlotte screamed, smacking Draco over the head with a pillow. "And you! Why didn't you stop him?" She huffed. Ron didn't answer, he looked confused and scared. Pathetic at best.

"Charlie, we always match our outfits for the New Years Eve party and I can't seem to find yours!"

She gaped at him. "Draco." Charlotte walked towards the bathroom across the hall and grabbed the outfit hanging on the door. "It's. Right. Here. OUT!" She shoved both men out the door and closed it to finish getting ready.

Draco and Ron looked at each other for a moment, laughed shortly then awkwardly stood there until Draco decided to see if any guests arrived. Ron stood there waiting for ten minutes for Charlotte to put herself together. Draco was wearing black dress pants with a deep green button up shirt, so Ron figured Charlotte would be wearing the same colors. But even so, he was pleasantly surprised at the sight of her. She had light pink hair, which stood out against her deep green dress. The length ended just above her knees and had a black strap just above her bust line to show off her figure. The dress covered her whole chest, and her arms up to her elbows so the only tattoos you could spot were the ones on her legs and behind the neck.

She stepped out and said goodnight to Kio and met Ron in the hallway. He got shy and merely put his arm out in the direction of the party. As she walked, she hoped Ron would put his arm distinctively around her waist, or hold her hand but he looked so deep in thought. She hoped he would go for it, but his ears turned red and he didn't say a word. Charlotte found it to be cute, but was determined to make him more comfortable around her.

They joined everyone in the living space and were greeted by Fleur, Bill and the rest of the Weasley adults. They seemed to have arrived to the party first, it was just after eight in the evening. Narissa, a natural at planning balls and parties, had the place looking it's absolute best. Harry was getting nervous for agreeing to let her renovate the place but couldn't deny how elegant everything turned out for the party.

Harry's room had been turned into a daycare room for anyone with children. Narissa had hired a nanny for the evening and brought two of her female house elves to assist her in any way. Teddy and Victoire were the first children to be put there, along with Thomas and Daphne's children, Marietta and Raven.

Draco had shown Daphne where the daycare room was and pulled her aside. "Is Astoria coming?"

"Oh Draco really now, of course Astoria is coming." Daphne sighed. "If there's another girl in the picture, you best tell her. Idiot." She turned and left back down to the party.

Daphne and Draco had been good friends during their years at Hogwarts but when she settled down with Thomas and had children, Draco backed out of his arrangement with Astoria. Thomas was three years older so naturally they had children quickly but Draco wasn't ready to get married when he was expected too, so they postponed it.

When Draco walked back to the party, more guests had arrived. Neville and his fiancee Hannah, Seamus and Dean and even Oliver Wood. Whom had a little boy holding his hand and looked almost identical to him, but with no woman. Harry showed Oliver the daycare room and Draco noticed a rather large Greg Goyle pop through the floo and went to greet him. Behind Greg, was a much smaller Terry Boot.

"Hope you don't mind me coming." Terry directed at Draco. "Oliver invited me."

Draco nodded but remembered Terry's sexual orientation and wondered if they were here together. _Together together_. Not that it mattered in the wizarding world.

"Where have you been!" Draco hissed at Charlotte. "I've been greeting guests alone and they all hated me in school."

"I don't know them at all, Draco. But I was in the kitchen if you must know. Finishing the preparations on the food!"

"Well, you're here now. Here's some more guests that don't like me. Ah, is the Mother calling?"

Charlotte mumbled to herself in frustration. "Evening ladies." She smiled sweetly. "You may hang your jackets over there in the hallway. I'm Charlotte."

Cho Chang, Lavender Brown and the Patil twins introduced themselves. Hermione had decided to invite Cho because even know Harry had dated her in fifth year, they were still friends and it was a party. She had also decided to invite Lavender because after the war they had made a truce and Lavender agreed after seeing Hermione and Draco together in public, figuring Ron was available now.

Charlotte found Luna and went to the kitchen to get some glasses of wine to serve. They returned with a glass for everyone floating behind them and Charlotte lost concentration when she saw her Durmstrang class mates floo through.

"Aleksandar! Damyan!" She embraced both men with a tight squeeze. The last time Charlotte saw her classmates was at Stefan's funeral. Then Viktor arrived just a moment after and Charlotte greeted him as well.

"Charlotte _Black_ huh?" Damien raised his eyebrows. "Nice 'air, tough guy."

Charlotte then explained everything to her old classmates, whom she thought to be her best friends in her time at Durmstrang. They had always competed with her because she had always come close to beating them in training.

"Vell, ve vont to meet this Veasley boy." Alexander confronted. "Damyan and I haff to approve."

"He's the really tall redhead." Charlotte bit her lip to suppress laughter and her two friends looked around and saw more than three tall redheaded males.

"He's the tall young one, without the scars on his face." She smiled. The night started off rather well.

Harry watched Oliver and Teddy in a conversation with Angelina, George, Ginny and Viktor. It was obvious they were speaking about Quidditch. Harry watched as Oliver stood close to Terry, almost in a protective manor. As he was watching the two gentlemen, a large Penelope cut his view off. She was beaming the most beautiful pregnancy glow. She was only able to drink sparkling lemonade but she seemed to be enjoying herself all the same with Fleur and Molly.

Neville was catching up with Dean and Seamus as Lavender, Cho and the Patil twins did the same. Nothing seemed to change much. "Did you see the ring on Luna's finger? I think Harry and Luna are engaged!" Padma exclaimed and Parvati nodded her head with equal excitement.

"Look at Won Won." Lavender whispered dreamily to Parvati, ignoring the comment about Luna and Harry. "I bet he misses me now." Even more dreamily. She would soon regret saying those words out loud. Charlotte was standing with her classmates only a few feet away and over heard. After spending the night together the week prior, they didn't hide their affection as must as they once had. Upon hearing what Lavender had just said, she made her way to Draco and her eyes widened with rage when he told her who she was.

She kept her eyes on Lavender and would wait to make her move.

As Draco and Charlotte stood in the middle of the room surrounded by happily drinking people, the floo burned once more and Astoria Greengrass appeared through.

"Draco...Why is Astoria here? I thought we only invited Daphne." Charlotte hissed. As Hermione made her way with a glass of champagne for Draco, Astoria spotted him and beat her to him. She threw her arms around his neck.

"Draco! How I've missed you." She beamed. He didn't say a word.

"Hello there." Hermione greeted skeptically. "I'm Hermione Granger. I don't think I've met you before."

"I'm Astoria Greengrass. Daphne's younger sister, and Draco's fiancee." She purred morbidly and turned her attention to Draco, who's expression was mixed with fear, desperation and panic.

"I see." She handed Astoria the glass and left to the kitchen, leaving Draco with Astoria mauling him. He saw the crestfallen look on her face and felt helpless.

"Hermione!" She heard but ignored it. Narissa and Lucius had seen the whole thing. Narissa decided to give Hermione a minute to herself and afterwards followed her.

"Miss Granger?" She called properly. Hermione looked up at her, eyes already a little puffy. "I do think you've gotten the wrong impression here tonight. I think you're a good fit for my son and I hope you will give him a chance to explain himself." She finished, then left the kitchen and left a really baffled Hermione.

_Did Narissa Malfoy just intervene in some way? Why would she want her son with a muggle born?_

* * *

"Her-Hermione?" Draco called her, ten minutes after the fiasco.

The party was so packed now that no one else had noticed Astoria leave, trying to make her exit as dramatic as possible.

He opened the door to the kitchen and walked over to Hermione, who was now sitting on the floor with Luna. "I'm such a fool." He heard her say before he called out her name. Luna began to get up from the floor at the sight of Draco.

"Hermione. It's not as it seems. Luna, would you give us a moment?" He extended his hand to Hermione. "You're getting your dress dirty." She got up on her own, ignoring his hand.

"She's not my fiancee Hermione. She was after the war was over." Hermione started to leave. "Hermione. It was an arranged marriage that I had backed out of. It was rearranged for this year unless I found someone on my own. And my Mother had seen that I have found someone, when I saw Astoria walk in. My parents called it off."

"How can they just call it off Draco? She's a pure-blood. Isn't that what they want? I'm filth to them. I was to you, just four years ago." She noticed how sad his expression had changed.

"I never thought you were filth. My parents are Malfoys and Blacks. That's what they were raised to think. I was only ever hurtful to you because I hated the way things were. You know the first time I called you a...a mudblood? It was after you offended me. My Father bought those brooms for the team a_fter_ I had been accepted as their seeker. I had admired you for your know-it-all personality, but it stung when you accused me of bribing the team with brooms. I know it doesn't justify calling you that word over the years. After first year, we were all filled with blind hate things just went from there. I never hated you. Now things are so different and I thought you could change with me."

Hermione blushed at her ignorance. "I'm sorry Draco." She whispered, as he took her hand and they joined the party after a few minutes.

* * *

Ron was trapped in talking to Lavender and gave Charlotte a desperate look and mouthed "help me" to her. Charlotte happily obliged.

"Won Won! It's been so long, you've grown into such a gentlemen I see." Lavender cooed.

"Won Won? I didn't know you were an animal, Ronald." Charlotte batted her eyelashes at him then glared at Lavender. "I think we met earlier, yes?" She extended her hand and Lavender shook it. As their hands connected, Charlotte pulled Lavender closer until her lips met her ear. Ron couldn't hear what she was saying, but he didn't think Lavender's eyes could stretch so wide and her face went white.

"Understand?" Charlotte asked with a smile. Lavender nodded and made her way to the other girls quietly. Once she made her way over, she had a sour expression on her face, much like the one she had given Hermione in sixth year.

"I do hope she stops looking at me that way." Charlotte sighed. "I don't want to ruin this dress."

"What did you say to her?" Ron asked. Charlotte didn't answer and would never tell. "I met Damien and Alexander earlier. They're both on the Bulgarian National Team and surprisingly friendly." He told her.

"Yes, they were my best friends apart from Viktor, at Durmstrang. Always took care of me at school. It was hard not telling them my secret, but it's nice being able to tell them now." Charlotte half smiled. "Excuse me for a moment."

Ron nodded and made his way over to Oliver. The party had been going on for three hours now, it was just one hour away from the countdown.

"So, was that little boy yours?" Ron asked, making conversation.

"Yes, his name is Noah. He's just turned five." Oliver smiled. "Just me and him. And Terry." He added, slightly nervous.

"Congratulations Oliver. He looks just like you." Ron patted him on the back.

"Are you and Draco's sister planning on having children?"

Ron choked on his drink and went red in the face. "Who says we're together?"

"It's obvious, Ron. Relax." He laughed loudly. Seamus, Dean and Harry made their way over and joined the conversation.

"Where's yer girl?" Seamus winked. "Herd ya were with that Black girl."

Ron's face went red and he drank more of his wine then glared at Harry.

"Speaking of her. She's been gone a while, where'd she go off to?"

"Not sure. I'll be right back." Ron said, glad to have an excuse to leave his friends.

"Hurry! The countdown starts in half an hour."

Ron went in search of Charlotte. He went to the third floor and she wasn't in the bedroom or their bathroom. Confused, he made his way downstairs and stopped at the door of Harry's room and could here Teddy yell Charlotte's name and heard him laughing with extreme joy.

The door was half open, so he peered in and saw Charlotte sitting on the floor with Teddy on her lap playing with floating building blocks and had the other children clapping with glee. He smiled to himself at the sight and just stood in the door way watching, hoping not to intrude. Teddy was slowly learning how to change his hair color and managed to turn his hair green for a few seconds until it went back to blue.

_She would be a good mother._ He thought to himself.

After five minutes, he cleared his throat to get her attention. She was so captivated by the children she hadn't even noticed him standing there.

"Count down is in twenty minutes, Charlotte." He said. "Would you mind coming down with me?" She nodded, and finished up with the kids.

She closed the door behind her and stood in front of Ron. "Do I get a kiss for the new year after the countdown?" He asked.

"In front of everyone?" She asked half hopeful, half nervous.

"In front of everyone." He confirmed, a little embarrassed. "Why did you leave?"

"I needed to escape for a little while. I was thinking things." She bit her lip as if she had said too much and he noticed. He was catching on to her tendencies.

"Thinking what?"

"I'm not as good of a person as you would think. You always tell me how awful Draco was..." She answered. "If you had left me alone with her..." She trailed off, looking at her bare feet. She had taken off her heels to play with the kids.

He lifted her chin up to get her to look him in the eyes. He didn't have the right words to say, he never knew what to say. He decided just to look at her, and it seemed to relax her. He moved his hand and left it on her cheek, and she held her hand over top of his. "You must not be sane if you fancy me." She laughed softly.

He took her hand and showed her the way to the living room where all the guests were. Draco and Hermione seemed to have patched up because she held onto his arm tightly and seemed a little drunk. Most of the guests looked a little drunk by now.

A floating tray of shot glasses floated around the room to each person and was designed not to leave the person until they had a shot. Everyone obliged and had a shot of firewhiskey. The tray came around to Charlotte and Ron and they clinked their glasses and downed their liquid. Damien had come up to them and passed Charlotte a bottle of Jagermeister. "Like old times!" He insisted. She drank two swigs and handed it back to Damien and then faced Ron.

He pulled her in and she rested her head on his chest because she was much too short to reach his shoulder. She noticed Narissa grinning widely and nudging Lucius but she ignored her parents. She was smitten and didn't care if they watched her.

She looked over and saw Harry brush Luna's hair out of her face and whisper something in her ear. She blushed.

When she looked at Bill and Fleur, she saw true love. She saw the same with Molly and Arthur. She looked at Ron and decided she wanted nothing more than to have that type of love with him.

"TWO MINUTES!" An alarm sounded all throughout the house. A tray of wine glasses began to float around the room. Everyone grabbed a glass and the laughter and chatting continued.

Harry lifted his glass high in the air. "A toast to the new year, leaving behind the old."

"A toast to change." Hermione lifted her glass.

"A toast to true love." Fleur lifted her glass.

"A toast to family. We've stuck together always in all ways." Draco lifted his glass.

"Always in all ways." Charlotte repeated as Ron squeezed her tighter.

"TEN, NINE, EIGHT, SEVEN, SIX, FIVE, FOUR, THREE, TWO, ONE!" "HAPPY NEW YEAR!" Everyone shouted together.

Ron pulled Charlotte and place his lips on hers as if no one else was in the room. It wasn't messy, but it was full of passion and it sent butterflies throughout Charlotte's whole body down to her toes.

Draco and Hermione had shared their first kiss, finally. He wrapped his arms around her waist and bent down to share a kiss. It was gentle and he could feel her smile as he kissed her and couldn't help but smile too.

Molly had made her way over to hug everyone and was extra cheerful when making her way to Ron and Charlotte. She hugged both of them and planted a big wet kiss on both of their cheeks. "Don't let this one go." She whispered loud enough for Ron to hear. Charlotte heard as well but didn't let Molly know.

Charlotte and Ron parted ways and gave everyone - almost everyone - a hug and wished them a happy new year. After an hour it started to die down and slowly everyone started to leave.

"Come on." Ron said, with his hand extended. "No one will miss us."

Charlotte wasn't sure what she was expecting when her and Ron made it to their bedroom that night. They had both had a lot to drink but when they go to the bed they both got into their pajamas and just fell onto the bed. She faced away from him and he held her tightly from behind. They hadn't moved a muscle throughout the whole night. When she woke up in the morning, he was still gripping her tightly but comfortably.

She attempted to sneak out of bed but Ron tightened his grip. "Don't leave me." He said tiredly. "You did on Christmas morning. Not today." He insisted, hiding his blushing face in her pink hair.

"I promised my parents I would have breakfast with them this morning." She turned and faced him, and his arms were still tightly wrapped around her. "They want to have breakfast one last time before we begin our trip. Even though we'll see them for a few days in France." She said. "They're acting as if I'll never return."

Ron opened his eyes and wiped the sleep away. "You will." He said simply. "After breakfast floo to Bill and Fleur's. We'll be there waiting. Just say "Weasley Shell Cottage" and it'll take you to the correct place." He smiled tiredly. "Leave now before I change my mind and lock you in here with me for the morning."

"Don't tempt me, Ronald." She pulled the covers over his face. "Now I don't have to look at you and be tempted. See you after breakfast. Come Kio."

* * *

"They're acting so strange." Charlotte said gently as Draco and herself made their way through the floo to Grimmauld place. They had just finished breakfast at the Manor and needed to grab Charlotte's bags to take to Shell Cottage.

"They're just concerned. Let's get your things already." Draco said.

"You know what I'm talking about Draco. You can see it too. They're acting as if I might not come home once I leave."

"You're wrong. They're afraid. But not because they think you're not going to return."

Charlotte gave him a questioning look.

"Charlie, they're afraid we're not going to find what you're looking for. You're so hopeful. We all are. What if we don't find a cure? What if we get bad news? They're just hoping you don't and they're trying to make you as happy as possible before that hapens."

Defeated, she had to agree. It made sense.

"I'll miss this place. It was just starting to feel like home." Charlotte sighed. She put her backpack over her shoulders and took her handbag. Both were charmed to hold as much as possible. The main part of her backpack held her wardrobe; Winter clothing for the times she's in cold countries and Summer/Autumn clothing for when she's in Egypt. The smaller pocket held her personal things, such as a sketch book and pencils, along with her make-up. Her handbag held her wand, her broomstick and all the books she had taken from the Malfoy library.

"I'm prepared for the worst, Draco. I already know I'll never live the life I want to live. But I'm living happily."

Charlotte took Draco's hand and they made their way to the floo.

"Weasley Shell Cottage."

* * *

It was a chilled afternoon. January 1st. It marked the first day of their training for five straight days. Harry was directed to test everyone on their defense skills and Bill had a five day training plan to ensure they were ready for what may lie ahead. He taught them curse breaker techniques that would help them stay safe.

"This place is so beautiful." Charlotte breathed and took a sip of hot cocoa. Ron and Charlotte were sitting on the beach outside Shell Cottage, with a warming charm cast upon them to keep them from getting cold. "Lonely and beautiful." She said.

It was quiet but relaxing. The two of them sat in a comfortable silence on a snowy covered log. Every inch was covered in snow and the sky was grey and cloudy. Almost gloomy, but it felt content.

"Isn't Dobby's grave here?" Charlotte piped up.

"Right. He used to be your elf if you lived in the Manor." He nodded. "Come on, I'll take you to his spot."

He took her hand in his and guided her to see Dobby. Charlotte remembered growing up with Dobby. He was Draco and Charlotte's favorite house elf, he was always picking up after their messes and kept them out of trouble. When the Death Eaters were coming to the Manor, Dobby accompanied her in her bedroom so she wasn't scared or lonely hiding.

"This is a nice spot." Charlotte decided. "You can see the cottage, the beach and all the land behind. He would be so thrilled to know Harry did this for him. He was set free when I was eleven, which upset me a little. Father did treat him badly most times, but Draco and I were very good to him as he was to us. I was pleased to see him a last time, during the war. All he talked about was Harry Potter, his friend."

"It was awful." Ron started. "To see him pass." He was terrible at finding words to say.

"Aunt Bellatrix is in her rightful place. She wasn't right in the head. Loved Voldermort more than she loved her own husband."

"I'm sorry." Ron said, looking out into the distance.

"For what?"

"For never having the right words to say. I'm pathetic at this sort of thing." He scratched the back of his head and looked towards the ground.

"Don't be a fool, Ron." She said. "I actually find your words more comforting. You don't try to come up with complicated words to try and make anyone feel better. You're true with your words, even if there aren't many."

Ron then took a moment and looked at the girl before him. He hadn't stopped and realized how deep he was in, and now he did. The girl that stole his heart from another was presenting him with hers and she seemed to accept him for everything he was. Not only accepted, but also admired. He didn't have much money, he had a family bigger than they could afford, and he lived in a cottage that had more floors than it could support.

The dreamy look she had when she talked about it made him wonder. He always thought about what life would be like with money and power, and was always jealous of Harry for having that. But looking at how badly she wanted what he had, made him realize what was more important.

The warming charm was slowly wearing off and Charlotte's cheeks were starting to match her hair. The smile she had reached every inch of her face.

"I didn't think I'd ever end up with you." He said after a while of figuring out his words. "I thought I was stuck in a life that was all planned out for me. But then you just walk into our lives and change everything. I'm not stuck anymore, I'm where I want to be. Do you understand?" He shoved his hands into his coat pockets.

"I think so. I'm where I want to be." She slipped her hand into his pocket and held onto his hand. Somehow, she felt like she was officially his, without even having to confirm it.

"I'm starved. Shall we head back?" He asked, then the two of them slowly walked towards the little house.

When the two of them got into the cottage, Fleur had just prepared lunch with Luna and Hermione and Bill was talking to Harry and Draco about training. Teddy and Victoire were on the floor coloring while Dominique was in bassinette sleeping.

"There you are. We're going to sit down for a little session after lunch when you're all fed." Bill told them. "I'm going to work with Draco and the girls. You'll work with Harry."

The words went through one ear and out the other, Ron was already at the table munching on lunch.


	16. Malfoy Manor Gardens

"I'm beat, is everyone else already in bed?" Ron asked Hermione, whom looked equally as tired as he was. Bill had pushed them to their limits today, and only on the first day. But ultimately they couldn't deny it might come in handy on their trip. And if it didn't, they were already planning revenge.

"Harry and Luna went to bed with Teddy. I haven't seen Charlotte or Draco, they're probably getting ready for bed." Hermione guessed. She felt awkward talking about "bed" to Ron now. She knew he and Charlotte would be sharing a room like usual, but this time she had to share a room with Draco. A bed with Draco. They had the option of the boys sharing a room, and then the girls share a room but they decided against it. It would be beneficial for Charlotte if she shared a room with Ron. Hermione wasn't nervous to sleep in the same bed as Draco, because he was a gentleman. But she hadn't shared a room with another boy other than Ron and Harry.

"I should head to bed before I pass out. You too." He yawned and massaged his muscles.

He uncapped his water bottle and chugged half of it down on the way up to the bedroom. He was surprised to see that Charlotte wasn't even in the room and wondered where she was. The cottage wasn't exactly large so she couldn't be far. It had four bedrooms, an attic bedroom and a living space. Simple, but elegant.

He pulled his shirt over his head and put pajama pants on, ready to flop on the bed and sleep for eternity. Before that chance became final, he started hearing voices outside in the backyard. Which was odd because it was raining outside lightly and it was still a cold winter night.

"Expelliarmus!" He heard Charlotte cry. She had been using him to help her use her magic all day and he suspected she was trying to do it on her own now. Her and Draco were doing drills that they had come up with together. She did physical training at Durmstrang and it benefited her well now because she didn't want to just rely on her magic.

"That was better." Draco said. "Better when Weasel is here, but you're improving. Take this." Draco told her. She took a sip of her potion and caught her breath.

"I can't rely on physical contact with Ronald to perform complex magic." Charlotte reminded herself out loud. "Can't sleep yet."

"Charlie, everyone else is on the verge of passing out from today. I'm surprised you didn't pass out three hours ago. It's almost 1 in the morning."

"He's right." Ron stepped outside, rubbing his arms to keep them warm. "I'll do extra drills with you tomorrow." She nodded in defeat. "Besides, it's started to rain and it's bloody freezing out here."

"Ronald, this is nothing. I went to school in Bulgaria, it's much colder there and I'm actually quite warm right now from all the running."

Draco was shivering and cold down to the bone. He was dressed in a heavy coat and heavy boots, whereas Charlotte was wearing a light jacket with fur on the inside and her Durmstrang boots.

He shook his head and smiled tiredly and guided her back to their room.

Draco then made his way to the room he was sharing with Hermione. When he opened the door, he saw a huge bed in the middle of the room with simple decor. The room was cream colored and very inviting. Hermione already claimed her side of the bed and was sleeping soundly when he walked in.

"Sorry." He apologized for waking her up. She tiredly opened her eyes half way and looked at him with a confused expression, then remembered Draco was sharing the bed. "Do you want me to sleep on the couch downstairs?" He asked, but she was shaking her head before he even finished his sentence.

"Trusting a _Slytherin_?" He grinned teasingly.

"Suppose I am." She smiled with her eyes closed. Draco climbed into bed, and turned the lights off magically, getting comfortable. He was so tired he had almost fell asleep instantly, but Hermione slid closer to him and rested her head on his chest. He smiled at put his arm around her to make it more comfortable for the two of them.

She couldn't help but feel baffled at whom she was willingly _cuddling_. The boy that was her best friends rival all through Hogwarts, the boy that would call her disgusting names, and a Malfoy. It went against all of her morals and against her brain. She was thinking with her heart this time. She stayed smiling as she drifted off into a peaceful sleep.

France was dirty. Absolutely beautiful and romantic, but down right dirty. Luckily, the Malfoy Manor that resided in France, was located in a quiet, ravishing meadow. The first stop that was made was to the Manor itself. They were shown their rooms by individual house elves and they put their charmed bags and suitcases on their beds.

Bill was to stay at Shell Cottage until the group arrived to Egypt, and would floo there, and Luna would floo with Teddy back to the Grimmauld place. Harry was very pleased to have his fiancee and godson with him on this "vacation."

"Did you want your own bedroom? We literally have more than necessary." Charlotte offered half-heartedly.

"And pass up the opportunity to sleep next to you? Bollocks." He dropped his bags in the doorway, walking into her bedroom. He hadn't actually seen her bedroom at the Malfoy Manor. This Manor wasn't much different. Half the size and more French.

Her room wasn't very large, but Ron suspected she wished so. The chamber suited her quiet well. There was a fireplace that reached the ceiling, with books crammed in every shelf and a small white table and big chair. He could picture her reading alone and enjoying the sounds of the night. There were windows all over the room, which let the bright sun shine through pleasantly that winter morning. The sun reflected off the snow and made it practically blinding to look out the window.

"We'll be here for twenty days. You should unpack. Make yourself at home." She smiled. "Here, I'll help." She offered. She made her way over to her dresser and opened the two doors. The closet was massive, but it was unnecessary. Ron threw his bags on her bed and unzipped the first. They were already all folded so all they had to do was move them from his bag to her dresser drawers.

"So where's everyone else's rooms?"

"Draco is a couple rooms down the hall from us. Hermione is supposed to be across the hall from him but unlikely it'll stay that way and the happy little family are on the other end of the hall." Charlotte answered. "Sorry."

"Sorry?" He asked, confused. "What for?"

"For being insensitive. My history was easier to...Well, it just must be hard to see someone you love all the time, and with someone else. Someone you hated. I just shouldn't be careless with my words." Charlotte said, biting her lip. She was so confrontational whereas Ron was the complete opposite, but she seemed to change that sometimes. He always saw her face scrunched up in thought and wished to ease it.

"Of course I love her. We fought a war together and every day could have been the last. I was determined to keep her and Harry both alive. I need them both. I loved her throughout school and then we were in the middle of a battle when we were finally able to be together. Then we mourned with one another and tried to start a life. That life was never the right life. I've found that, Charlie. I love Hermione the way Harry loves Ginny."

"Draco and I both understand and would never do anything to ruin your bond. And since when did you call me Charlie?"

Ron's ears tinted pink, then slightly red. "Since I noticed all your family calls you that."

Charlotte took a step forward and stood on her tippy toes, wrapping her arms around his neck. "You're family?"

"To me." He kissed her on the nose. "Let's find the others."

* * *

"So what's on the agenda today?" Ron asked Draco as they all met in the hall.

"Ah, children." Narcissa beamed. "Glad to see you all arrived safely. Don't mind Lucius and I, we'll be in the back gardens. You won't even notice us. Carry on."

"She's right. You could live here for days and we wouldn't even notice your presence. Careful you don't get lost," Draco teased, "Charlotte and I plan to take you all on a tour to the biggest attractions as well as some of our favorite places, and pubs. We're celebrating our first night here."

They all waved goodbye to the Malfoy's.

"As in we're getting you all pissed. We hold no responsibility for hang overs," Charlotte winked, "Your first stop is one of Draco's favorites."

"We'll be traveling the muggle way from now on. You really get to know Paris this way. Come along." Draco offered his arm to Hermione, whom happily obliged. She took his arm and they lead everyone outside the Manor. A gust of wind blew in their faces but they were pleased to find it wasn't snowing.

Two shiny black vehicles were parked in the front lot and Draco threw keys to Charlotte, who caught them easily. She clicked the button and the car unlocked with a 'beep.'

"What's going on?" Ron asked skeptically. "I thought we were traveling the muggle way? Flying cars?"

"What is it? Don't trust me?" She teased, "Don't worry, Draco and I have been driving cars every summer since we were 14."

"Relax," Draco patted Ron on the back. "She's actually an impressive driver for a girl. You two are going driving in the fields behind the manor. The rest of us are going on a tour before you join us."

"Pfft, 'for a girl' he says." Charlotte mumbled, opening the car door. "I hope you don't mind not going to the tour with everyone. We'll do that together tomorrow. Draco tells me you flew a car to Hogwarts in your second year. You can't be nearly as nervous for me to drive, if you did at the age of twelve."

"You both drive? I thought you were pure-blood and proud?"

"We are, Weasel. Doesn't mean we didn't have fun growing up." Draco retorted.

"I see. Right." He realized he hadn't answered Charlotte, and opened the passenger side door. "It was nice knowing you all. Harry, keep my prized broom safe, would you?" He joked, taking a deep breath, then sat in the seat and fastened his seat belt.

"Drama queen. Alright everyone! We'll meet later this evening. If you end up at the pub, Teddy can be apparated here for a few hours. Mother would be pleased."

The interior was nothing but the finest of dragon hide leather, with dragon scales on the dashboard. Typical Malfoy dark style.

Charlotte sat down and started the engine. "The dragon had just died when we bought all of this." She smiled.

"I sure hope you can drive this thing. Where are we headed?" He asked, slightly nervous as Charlotte let the engine roar.

"We have miles of fields in the back with trails."

He nodded. Draco turned his vehicle on, but Charlotte hit the gas quickly and sped up beside him in one swift motion. "We'll meet you at the pub in a couple hours."

Draco nodded, then was off. Charlotte sped up and was hot on his trail, but turned down a rocky path and they parted ways. The ride was bumpy until they reached the trail, which was smooth dirt covered with snow that crunched under the tires. Lucius and Narcissa were in a small garden and Ron could see them chatting and drinking tea, with a warming spell casted around them. Ron could validate that theory, because the garden had no snow at all. The garden was bright greens and pinks. Charlotte was speeding so highly that they were out of sight in no time. He had never seen a garden that stayed fresh all year around.

There were hills, turns, circles, ponds and bridges all throughout the fields. Every inch was covered in crisp snow and icicles. The pond was frozen, the bridge was as still as stone and they slid on ice during every turn which caused Ron to grab onto his handle.

"This car has to have a spell on it."

"Correct. Anti-damaging and it can't get dirty. It just beads and falls off. Remarkable, no?" She slowed down so they could enjoy the scenery. Everything was white and peaceful. It felt like the fields near the Burrow, but much larger and private. He felt less intimidated when it reminded him of home.

After Ron realized the drive was going to be longer than twenty minutes, he settled comfortably in his seat and leaned his head against the window. A mixed tape with Celestina Warbeck, the Weird Sisters and The Hobgoblins played in the car as they drove. He watched the scenery pass them quickly and he wondered how the length of their fields were even possible. She sped up until the snow covered trees were merely white blurs flashing by them.

He leaned closer to Charlotte and he put his hand over hers. She held the steering wheel with her left hand and smiled as Ron took the other. She has felt comfort with others before her, mostly Stefan, but had never felt so at ease and purely happy. She sighed lightly and squeezed his hand. He made her feel so wanted and needed. She always played the needy role, but she could tell now that he needed her too.

"Here we are." She stopped the car slowly and unlocked the doors. She reached behind her and grabbed a small hand bag and let herself out of the vehicle. The cold air made her want to retreat back to the warmth but she zipped her jacket up and shook it off. Her light pink hair blew in front of her face and she tied it up in a bun so she could see clearly and put her fuzzy hat on.

"Bloody hell. What is this? It looks like the Quidditch pitch at Hogwarts."

"But much smaller. A private one my father made for Draco as a gift. It's dead center in the field." She said as she put her arm in her bag.

She pulled out Ron's broom and handed it to her. "Charmed bag? Know them well." He mused. "We're flying?" His eyes widened excitedly.

"You are. I've never flown before." She smiled at him. "Unless you feel like teaching me. It might work now that I have you here."

"Might work?"

"I've never been able to fly higher than a few feet before I pass out so I gave up years ago." She explained. "I do have this broom," She pulled out a plain black broomstick with a feminine touch to it, "but I've never used it."

He mounted his broom and held his hand to her. "Here, we'll try together first." He suggested. Hesitantly she took his invitation and he lifted her and placed her in front of him. He was extremely tall compared to her so she fit comfortably. Ron slowly took his feet off the ground and they were a foot in the air. He gradually went higher.

"Squeeze my hand if you get uncomfortable."

She nodded and he fly twenty feet in the air to get a good view of the land. It was indeed beautiful and covered with white fluff. He took a slow stroll around the perimeter and the cold air hit their faces but not a care was given.

"This is brilliant. I think I want to try on mine." She admitted and he found the ground shortly after. When their feet touched the ground Ron handed Charlotte her broom and helped her on.

"Just kick up off the ground and stay steady. Lean forward just a touch, and you'll get height." He held onto her torso and she did as she was told. She was shaky and nervous but she managed to follow the instruction.

"I'm dreadful!" She cried. "I can't even balance on the bloody stick!" She leaned forward and pouted, and gained too much height and almost fell off her broom. But being in the air so quickly made her aware and she was able to steady herself.

"Looks like you need to learn fast or not learn at all!" Ron shouted. "Hold on." He mounted his broom once again and was at her side. "Let's go slowly around the car then around the little stream over there."

She nodded and as slow as possible they flew around the car. After that she felt more comfortable and sped up a little. Her heart raced and the cold air gave her goosebumps but she was thrilled. "I've always joined Draco to the pitch and watched him from a distance. I'd sit under a tree and read or study. He keeps a box with a snitch in it somewhere under the bridge and practiced every summer." She told him. "He was so determined because he could never beat Harry. He's a great seeker, but couldn't match Harry. Harry is the type of person to not think, and Draco is the opposite. He's aware of his surroundings at all times, where as Harry just focuses on his own goal."

"Can't say I can complain. Harry won for us many times." Ron half grinned. "But thinking back, you can't help but feel bad for the chap. I've lost a few games before when I started in 6th year. It's not pleasant."

"Glad you understand him a little." Charlotte said.

"I understand him more than you think. And I didn't say anything about your comment about him early, but I don't hate him just so you know. I actually approve of Hermione finding something special with him."

"Really? I must say I'm taken back Ronald." Charlotte breathed.

"It kind of makes me think anything is possible, you know? Seeing her forgive everything he's ever done to her or us, and see all prejudices just vanish within months is phenomenal. Anyone can fall in love and everyone is worth it if those two can make it."

"Merlin." Charlotte exhaled deeply. "You surprise me continuously. Let's head back to the house."

"Right. Shouldn't really push yourself on the broom anyway. Should you take potion later?"

"Maybe just a tablespoon. By the way you're driving!" She flew quickly to the ground and got her broom into the bag by the time he heard her correctly. She sat in the passenger side and patted the drivers seat. "Already buckled in so you can't say no."

When he landed he shook his head at her. "Charlie, I haven't driven since I was twelve."

And after a long argument, Ron was in the drivers seat with the engine roaring and his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly.

"Oh really Ronald, you believe any type of love is possible but you can't speed up a little?" Charlotte groaned, "Here!" She shouted, while reaching over and pressing her hand to the gas pedal.

"Ah! Don't do that! There's ice everywhere!"

"Then go faster! You can't damage the car, therefore you can't damage us."

"Challenge accepted." Ron laughed. "I forgot about that."

He sped the car up noticeably faster thinking Charlotte would tell him to slow down but she sat up in her seat and grinned like a fool. She liked being thrilled. He sped up and realized a sharp turn was coming up and tried to brake a little so they could make it, but the ice made them slide. The car rammed into a snow bank and he sat there holding the steering wheel so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Ron? It's alright, we're alive. That's actually one of the best parts when driving with Draco. He has a record of hitting 34 snow banks in five minutes."

* * *

"We're meeting them at 'La Taverne des Sorcieres' shortly. Draco is probably already pissed loaded. Change your attire, it's time to get loose." She went through his pile of clothes and chose a sharp midnight blue sweater with black jeans.

"You speak French?"

"Fluent French, Bulgarian and of course English."

"I see." He lifted his shirt over his head.

"Oh Ron," Charlotte plugged her nose.

"Sorry. I sweat a lot when I fly." He blushed.

"Not a problem. Follow me." She said as she took her pants off.

He stood there caught off guard for a moment until he heard a shower running. The other door in her bedroom led to a separate bathroom. It had an enormous walk in shower that was blues and greens and pearl. It reminded Ron of the bottom of the ocean. He didn't notice many other details, as he saw the naked girl he knew as Charlie, with water running down her body.

The hot water had steam crawling out of the shower already and he unzipped his jeans and removed his briefs and pants all in one go. He stepped into the steamy shower and faced her naked back side. Her long pink hair covered most of her back, but her bottom and legs were completely bare to his eyes.

He stepped closer to her, letting the hot water travel down his cold skin and placed his hands on Charlotte's hips, pulling her back to his chest. He let his hands explore her bare stomach, to her rib cage, then back down to the side of her thighs. She lifted her arm and held onto his neck then turned herself to face him.

She took some body wash and gently caressed every inch of his torso. She pulled him closer and the water poured down his head like a waterfall. As the water fell down his face, she reached up and placed her lips generously on his. The sweet taste of her was familiar to him now, but it surprised him each time.

Charlotte pulled herself up and wrapped her legs around his waste, with his help. He hoisted her up and held her against the wall. He couldn't believe how completely comfortable he was, butt naked in the shower attached to another human. Their lips were locked and he felt as if they were magnets. He knew if he tried to pull away, it wouldn't happen. Their skin was slippery and moved as one, and it didn't need to be said out loud. He shifted once, and the wetness of their skin gave him easy access to her body. It one quick movement, they were one. He pushed through with no restraint and thrusted forward causing Charlotte to catch her breath. Their breath got rapidly faster and she dug her fingers in his back to keep herself up.

The deeper he penetrated, the shorter Charlotte's breathing got. They kissed desperately, and when they weren't kissing Ron was kissing the rest of her.

When they were both close, Ron sped up and thrusted as deep and fast as his body would let him. He kissed her one last time, both of them out of breath, and he helped her down gently. She sighed and laughed gently.

"Time to clean you for real now." She said, as she poured more body wash into the palm of her hand, lathering it up on his chest. He hugged her as she tried. He felt such a euphoric feeling for her that he just had to do it. His actions spoke louder than words and she stopped soaping his skin and let him embrace her. Their naked bodies were touching at every possible inch and it felt so natural.

"I'm going to get out and pick my outfit." She told him as she kissed him one last time. "Don't forget you can't wear robes. Muggle attire only!"

* * *

Charlotte drove them to _La Taverne des Sorcieres_ and found the matching vehicle and parked in front of it. Upon leaving, Luna had dropped Teddy off at the Manor and had gotten a ride back to the pub with Charlotte and Ron.

"So from 1-10 how drunk are they?" Charlotte laughed and asked Luna.

"Hermione and I have decided to wait for you, so we're sober. Draco and Harry on the other hand, are right pissed. I'd say they're almost at 8, but they're saving the rest of their shots and beers for when Ron arrives."

"Looks like we've got some drinking to catch up on." Charlotte linked arms with Ron and Luna.

The pub was full of muggles but the group could tell they weren't the only magical beings there that evening. The pub was called 'pub of witches' so naturally it would attract them. Harry was grateful he decided to wear contacts and wasn't easily recognized. Luna had mentioned once that she loved his circular specs, but she also had loved being able to see his eyes so on occasion he would give his glasses a break.

Draco and Harry were hanging onto the bar with their empty shot glasses and glasses in front of them. Charlotte laughed out loud and shook her head.

"Draco, our goal was to get everyone else drunk. Not you!" She teased.

Charlotte took a seat next to Hermione with Luna, holding a tray of colorful shots. They all clanked glasses and drank each shot with one big gulp. The burn was followed with another burn as they took two shots in a row.

"Cheers to our first night." Charlotte announced, and took another. "Draco and Harry seem to be getting along rather well."

"Yes, they've been 'bonding' all evening. They decided to talk about Hogwarts for hours on end and when they began drinking they've been acting as if they've been best friends for years!" Hermione smacked herself. "Boys are so stubborn. Takes a bottle of whiskey to make up."

"I'm glad! Draco has always been fond of you all."

The music blared and after an hour Charlotte was starting to feel fuzzy. She faced Hermione and had a grin on her face. She noticed the boys had been eyeing them multiple times. They all suspected they were having man talks about their women.

"Hermione," Charlotte said loudly over top of the music, "Look at them. They're just staring and not asking us to dance!"

"Yes, I think you're right Shhhharlotte." Hermione slurred with a smile. Charlotte was oddly close to Hermione's face, but she knew it was due to the loud music.

"I have a plan, darling. Luna, watch the boys." She winked.

Charlotte grabbed Hermione's hand and took her to the crowded dance floor. She grabbed her shirt and lifted it and tied it so Hermione's stomach was showing just a little and grabbed her hips. Hermione looked at her questioningly and Charlotte whispered, 'Play along.'

Hermione had more to drink that passed hour than she had in her whole life. She let the music and alcohol take over and closed her eyes and felt Charlotte holding her hips and swaying. Hermione lifted her arms into the air and shook her hips and thighs along to the music. She opened her eyes and only saw darkness, blurry bright lights and Charlotte's face. She was biting her lip and got extremely close, laughing. Their lower bodies were completely touching as well as their stomachs.

Charlotte took Hermione's hands and flirtatiously moved her around the dance floor and stuck their foreheads together then threw her head back laughing.

Hermione could almost taste the alcohol coming from Charlotte's breath and felt hot and no longer in control. She had nearly forgotten the floor was full of other people dancing as well, and could feel eyes on her from every direction. She closed her eyes and leaned into Charlotte's body and buried her head in Charlotte's neck, letting the music flow through her.

When she straightened up and looked into Charlotte's eyes, all she saw was fire. Their faces got as close as they could without their lips touching and smiled knowing the boys had to be staring. Hermione knew it was for the boys, but her mind wasn't clear at that time. All she had to do was pucker her lips the slightest bit and she'd be kissing the other girl.

Luna had saved the day and stumbled over to them, laughing to herself. Charlotte broke away and looked at the boys, and howled then gently looked towards Hermione. "Look at them, pathetic the lot of them."

Harry was sitting with a flushed face, Draco looked deliciously jealous and ready to pounce and Ron sat there with a blank expression. Draco was the first to get up from his seat after noticing men looking as well, and was at Hermione's side within seconds. He was whispering in her ear, which gave Luna and Charlotte the hint to leave. He gave his sister one daring look that said 'Try that again, I challenge you.' But Charlotte merely laughed again.

She sat in Draco's seat next to Ron and played with his ear. "Serves you right for not dancing with me." She said simply. He drank the rest of his beer and held out his hand to her.

"After that display, I'm not sure if I want to dance with you. I may disapparate you home on the spot."

The rest of the night was enjoyed with many beers, fancy drinks and laughter all around. Charlotte wished it to never end. But once it did end, the night wasn't over. They all had gotten into their vehicles and Charlotte turned on the engine.

"Charlie, you're pissed out of your mind," Ron lazily turned his head to her.

"The car isn't a muggle car, Ronald. We just choose to drive it ourselves usually. It's set to drive us home." She told him. "I'm just in the front seat so the muggle authority doesn't wonder who's driving."

Charlotte got out of the car without warning and bent into the window of Draco's car. When she returned, she changed the destination the car was set to drive to the alley way next door instead of home.

Before Ron could ask why, Draco's vehicle and Charlotte's were parked in the alley and Draco was drunkenly saying spells and then laughing when he messed up. He focused and then instantly the two car's were one. It transfigured into a vehicle that could fit all six of them.

Charlotte and Hermione clapped in excitement and climbed into the van. Harry and Luna were in the backseat already, Hermione and Charlotte took the middle and Ron and Draco sat in the front seats. The van started to drive them home and they were having the time of their lives while listening to the Weird Sisters.

"I beat your record!" Ron yelled. "I just remembered! This afternoon. I got 36 snow piles in 5 minutes."

"Bastard. Let's make it ten minutes and see who does the best, Weasley."

"Deal."

Once they arrived safely to the fields, the van turned into two separate cars again. They parked them at the back of the Malfoy Manor and entered the warmth of the garden to escape the cold.

Narcissa and Lucius had already vacated it and had been drinking tea. "Teddy's been asleep for a few hours. If he wakes up I'll tend to him. It's still early, Charlie why don't you show them to the carts?" Her mother suggested.

"Someone is bound to die. This way everyone!" Charlotte mused. There was a tiny shed her and Draco unlocked and removed tiny carts for everyone.

"Tap them with your wand and they'll grow. They're miniature cars you could say. Hermione and Harry should know what they are."

Draco pushed one at Ron. "Ten seconds head start."

Everyone else waited for Ron and Draco to go, knowing it'd be unintelligent to do otherwise. They were all intoxicated and those two were itching for a race. When they were off, the rest of them drove at a respectable pace, in sync with each other as the snow began to fall.

The ride was peaceful and smooth despite their drunken spinning heads.

* * *

Twenty days had passed rather fast. Ron was starting to feel at home. He felt as if Charlotte wasn't sick, they weren't traveling to find an Island, they were truly just on vacation. He got familiar with every room in the Manor, especially the kitchen, and was even invited to tea with her parents on multiple occasions when everyone else went ice skating.

The water in the pond was so thick that it made a perfect rink and everyone took to skating at least every other morning and evening. Charlotte and Draco were each holding Teddy's hands and slowly taught him how to skate. He was three and a half and they decided it would be the perfect time. He could run, why not skate?

Ron skipped out on the skating that evening and took advantage of his last night there. He had grown fond of the warming garden and often found time for it. It was nice to sit there in the warmth and be surrounded by beautiful flowers and trees, while looking out into a winter wonderland.

"What time are you scheduled to leave tomorrow morning?" Lucius said behind him.

Ron looked around and met eyes with him. "We're set to leave at dawn."

"It was nice company. You'll be in hotel rooms from now on. Try not to eat everything in Italy, will you? And take care of her." Lucius sat down two seats away from Ron.

Ron smiled and sipped his tea.

"I do hope you realize the hospitality isn't fake, Mr. Weasley," Lucius began, "We're grateful for you helping our daughter. We don't blame you for resentment and a last minute change of side doesn't change the past."

"I understand sir. There will always be a thought in the back of my mind and if it wasn't for Charlie, I'd never trust you. But at the end of the day, you were protecting your family. If my parents can move on from those times, I see no reason to hold onto any anger. Everyone was brought to justice." Ron answered.

Lucius could tell by the tone of his voice he was speaking of Bellatrix. He could admit he was at Voldemort's side out of fear more than anything else, but he couldn't say the same for her. He secretly admired Ron for being able to speak to him without holding back. He wasn't a boy trying to impress the father of the girl he loved.

"I can tell you're really fond of Charlie. But do be careful." Lucius stood from his seat. "I'm due to meet my wife. We'll see you all off in the morning."

Then he was alone.

He decided not to wonder what Mr. Malfoy was talking about. His ring did warm sometimes when she was around, which made him curious, but he put it to the back of his mind. She needed him. He was sure when she didn't need him anymore, she wouldn't just leave.

He wished they weren't leaving France. He almost had the right mind to say forget Italy entirely, until he was reminded of all the great food he'd be eating. He didn't feel ready to leave the Manor and a part of him figured it was because he felt like he wouldn't come back. A part of him didn't believe she'd stick around when he was of no use to her.

He admired the garden, the fields, the study, the kitchen and particularly a certain office. It was a room made of just windows with just a desk, plants and files. It had been Lucius's office as a younger boy but had abandoned it. The view was incredible.

The twenty days had come to an end, and in the early morning they were off to their next destination. He looked back on their stay and smiled at how close everyone had gotten, it felt impossible. Hermione and Draco were attached to one another, Teddy started to need Luna with him all the time and Harry seemed to be thinking big. He had told Ron and Charlotte during their time there that he wanted to start a family with Luna within the year. His parents had him right after Hogwarts, so he didn't see the point in waiting.

Ron had encouraged Harry to do so. He saw the light in Charlotte's eyes as Harry talked about having children. Ron knew she wanted children. He had even told her he'd love to have children early with her too if it were possible. She had smiled and kissed his cheek and he squeezed her hands tightly. He thought he had crossed a line but she rolled her eyes at him when he mentioned it. 'It made me happy to hear you say that, you big git. Don't worry.' She had said.

How could he think to be careful when she had always seemed so strong? He couldn't help but feel safe with her, even with the doubts.


End file.
